Vanilla Twilight
by RozenPitch
Summary: It's early January and the Soul Society decides the members of the noble families deserve coming-of-age ceremonies, and the closest just happens to be Rukia's... *First fic and sucky summary
1. Chapter 1: Menos, Memories, and Misery

A/N: My first ever fanfic. O_O It's kinda rough and a little bit of an experiment. I first though of the idea for this when I thought "I would love to dance to this song at a wedding or something..."

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**Vanilla Twilight**

Chapter 1: Menos, Memories, and Misery

January 7th – Ichigo and Rukia were trudging through the 8 inch deep snow coming home from school from. Snow was falling at a rate of at least an inch and a half every hour and the winds were so strong it was like it was snowing sideways. The warm fire and hot chocolate waiting for them in the Kurosaki Clinic seemed so far away that it was virtually unreachable. And to make their problems even worse, they were both in horrible moods.

Menos Grande had been showing up on after another and that could only mean that much more work for Ichigo. Sure, they were pretty easy to deal with considering he had defeated some of the strongest Espadas in Hueco Mundo, but after about seven Menos Grande attacks in twenty-four hours, it can get a bit tiring. Not to mention having to make up excuses for not turning in homework assignments completed. He figured the excuse of fighting evil spirits to protect the human race wouldn't fly that well with sensei.

As for Rukia, she had recently heard about some strange new decisions being made in the Soul Society. It was a bit different from their normal antics and it seemed to involve the noble families. Considering she was a Kuchiki, she couldn't help but be curious. She always had to know what was going on and she hated not being informed. She was always very persistent on getting the answers that she wanted, especially if it concerned herself.

It was then that Rukia's soul pager had gone off once again. It was like waking up to an alarm clock with a hangover to both of them. They were really lucky that tomorrow was Saturday.

"Are you friggin' kidding me?! Is there seriously ANOTHER one?! Ichigo screamed, annoyed as could be.

"We don't really have much of a choice. Besides, it's close by. Let's just get rid of it so we can go home," Rukia said trying to be at least somewhat positive.

"Fine…" Ichigo muttered under his visible breath.

Ichigo pulled out his substitute soul reaper badge and within seconds was after the hollow. Rukia quickly followed, dragging his lifeless body along the cold ground.

He was running too far ahead for Rukia to catch up to him. It had been too long since she replenished her gigai with energy, which slowed her down tremendously.

"Damn… this gigai really is useless!" She screamed. She tried to go as fast as possible but after a while she decided not to strain herself. She figured it would be all right if she let Ichigo do his business and he'd make his way back.

_RAWRRRRRRRR!!!!!_

A few minutes later, she heard a scream of pain in the distance as a sign that the hollow had been killed. Ichigo was getting stronger and stronger each day up to the point where he could defeat a Menos with only a few blows, usually without a scratch on himself. She was very proud of him in so many ways. "He sure as grown, hasn't he?" She asked herself with a wide grin on her face.

Suddenly, she heard the door of the Senkaimon open behind her. She was afraid, but nonetheless she slowly turned around to find a familiar face stepping out of the Senkaimon. _What could he possibly want with me now? _Rukia thought to herself, half annoyed and half frightened.

Ichigo was making his way back towards Rukia, slowly but surely. "Man, do I really have to waste my time on hollows like those?" He complained to himself out loud. As he walked on the freshly fallen white snow, he thought about what he was supposed to do about next Friday; January 14th, Rukia's birthday. It was the first time they celebrated one of their birthdays together and he had no idea what to do or what to expect. "What does the Soul Society do for birthdays anyway? Do they do anything special? Nah, they probably don't. `Should probably ask Renji later."

More than anything, he wanted it to be special. After all, she deserved a nice birthday. He doubted she got any special treatment from Byakuya. In fact, he was probably the last person to give her any special acknowledgement. If it were anyone, it would most likely be Renji, considering they were supposed "best friends".

Just the mere sound of that ticked him off. _How could that jerk be "best friends" with a person he captured?! He betrayed her! It may've been a while ago and he apologized and all but that wouldn't really matter to me if my best friend almost got me killed!! _Before he knew it, Ichigo's cheeks were as red as strawberries (intended pun) because of his loss of breath due to his continuous ranting. He seemed to be walking faster and faster, stomping harder and harder. _Why on Earth is this getting me so angry?! They're only friends! I'm special to Rukia, too, aren't I?_ _But why is it that I want to be so special…?_

All of a sudden, he felt an extremely powerful amount of spiritual pressure and he knew exactly whose it was. He didn't know what he desired this time, but whatever it was, it probably wasn't good. _Seriously?! Why does it have to be now? _ And with that, Ichigo sprinted off towards Rukia. This would only make his pissy attitude even better.

"Is something the matter, big brother?" Rukia asked Byakuya curiously.

"In a way, yes. I would like to talk to you… about your birthday."

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A/N: I wanted to get past 1000 words but that didn't happen. Kinda short and it was probably easy to tell that it was Byakuya behind Rukia =__= Who else would it be, anyway? Anyways, please tell me what you think! =^^= Not much IchiRuki YET but there will be later on I promise! ;]


	2. Chapter 2: Explanation and Apology?

**Hey guys! ^^ Thanks for the reviews you guys gave me and I promise, this chapter is a lot better than the first! ;P It also has a lot more dialogue and IchiRuki-ness in it :D  
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****Chapter 2: Explanation and... Apology?**

_Shit... shit... shit...._ was all that was running through Ichigo's head. As he ran through the blinding snow, he almost couldn't tell which direction he was going in. He was acting just on his sense of spiritual pressure similar to a blind dog relying only on sense of smell. Ichigo was lucky he seemed to have developed a sixth sense. Getting closer, he started to feel not only Byakuya's spiritual pressure but Rukia's as well. Finally, he was getting closer.

_Damn... damn... damn..._ was all that was running through Rukia's head. There was a silence for a minute but it seemed to last an eternity. His stern glare was like a newly sharpened knife pinned into her chest. "And what would that be, nii-sama?" She asked, trying to sound polite.

"You see the Soul Society has decided-" Byakuya began but was cut off by a shouting voice in the distance.

"Hey! Rukia! You okay over there?" Ichigo shouted as he finally approached them. He was nearly out of breath, again and he was bent over trying to catch his breath, but he tried to find the energy to speak. "Everything all right over here?" He asked as he stood up and straightened his back. He tried to look serious, but compared to Byakuya's glare, he looked like a fool.

"Perfect timing, Kurosaki-kun. Now I won't have to waste my time explaining this twice," he said, facial expression the same as always. "Sit down, please."

A bit confused, but not wanting to upset him, the two sat down on the cold snow.

"You see, as Rukia is probably well-aware, the Soul Society has been making a few new decisions recently," he began. "It concerns the noble families, and as a Kuchiki it applies to you. They have decided that the members of the noble families deserve coming-of-age ceremonies. They have been tossing this idea around for some time now but it has just been announced recently, and because your birthday is closest, they have decided to try it out with you. I myself do not have all the details yet but they say that they will keep us posted on the matter," He sounded like one of those automatic voices that you hear on the phone when you have to leave a message. "That is all I have to say. I will contact you the next time we hear news about the matter. As of now, it is scheduled for next Friday and all captains and lieutenants will be required to attend, but you must come up with a guest list before then. And..." He shot a quick glance at Ichigo, which practically froze him. "Humans are allowed to attend... for now."

And with that last statement, he opened up the Senkaimon once more and had left the two to ponder on what they had just been told. For a minute there was an awkward silence between the two. Then, they looked at each other. "Uhh sounds interesting, don't ya think?" Rukia asked, trying to make conversation.

"Uhh, yeah, definitely," Ichigo said still somewhat confused. "We should probably get going home now. Dad's probably going to wonder where we are. Besides, if we stay out here any longer we're probably going to catch a cold. Wouldn't want that for your big day, now would you? After all, you're gonna have to impress a lot of people," He said sarcastically.

Rukia smacked him behind the head so hard that his face went right into the snow.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!!" He shouted.

"For thinking my birthday is nothing special, that's what!" She was actually very insulted about what he said. "I thought you would at least take something like this somewhat seriously..." she bit her lip and tilted her head towards the ground slowly.

"N-no, I didn't mean it like that! I promise! It is special, really special!" Ichigo was trying to find the right words to apologize and looked like a fool.

"I'm kidding! Gosh, do you honestly think I care that much?" She sprang up and reached her hand out towards him. "C'mon!"

Ichigo wasn't buying it. He knew that she really was upset and that she didn't think that his apology was sincere. It was easy to tell by the somber look in her eyes. He grabbed her hand but instead of pulling himself up, he pulled her down towards him.

As Rukia was forced back towards the ground, Ichigo wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. It took Rukia a few seconds to process in her mind what had happened, but she finally understood when she looked into his eyes. _Oh my gosh..._

"I'm serious. When I apologize, I mean it," He said, serious as he's ever been. He pulled her closer and he placed his other hand on the back of her head and moved it closer to his. Their noses were practically touching.

Rukia was blushing like crazy and she could hardly find the words to speak. "Uhh okay, I-I believe you!" She shouted. "I forgive you, Ichigo!"

Before letting her go, he embrace her and brought her closer to his body that it had been before. Her face was even redder and if she didn't know any better, she would've thought she had caught a fever.

Ichigo slowly leaned towards the side of her head and whispered in her ear, "You don't have to shout when you're right next to me, midget."

That earned him another hard slap into the snow.

"Now that I'm not forgiving you for!" She said as she ran off without him, this time knowing he was sarcastic. As he chased her all throughout the park waiting for him to catch up, she couldn't help bit keep that wide smirk on her face.

* * *

After finally catching up with her and pinning her down a few times in the snow, they eventually made their way home, covered in snow and possibly having a few frostbitten finger tips.

"Welcome home, you two!" Yuzu greeted them as they walked in the door. "You guys sure have been gone for a while. What were you up to?" She asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing that exciting," Rukia said as an excuse, giggling softly to herself.

They took their heavy down coats off and were about to go for the (somehow still) warm cups of hot chocolate from the kitchen counter when none other than Isshin came flying in.

"ISSHIN FIST AERIAL ATTACK!!!" He flew into the room, somewhat similar to what Super-Man probably would've looked like with his right first out pointing towards Ichigo and his left fist at his side.

Ichigo had already experienced this attack once, so he knew how to dodge it. He simply ducked and Isshin flew right into hard wall, next to a dent he had made earlier that very same day.

"You already tried that move once on me, Dad. It's time to come up with something new," Ichigo stated as the sipped his hot chocolate.

"Seriously?!! I thought that was a totally new one! Back to the old drawing board, then, I guess!"

"Don't you think that's a little bit harsh on your dad, Ichigo?" Rukia questioned.

"Nah, he's used to it by now, and if you ask me he deserves it."

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**A/N: I hope that was good enough for you guys.^^; The IchiRuki scene was a bit hard to describe but I hope it seemed clear enough. =__=;;;;I was supposed to be gone over the weekend but cause of the crappy weather, that ain't happening, so I'll be here for a while and hopefully have another chapter out by Sunday. ^^ And you know the deal, R&R (Rate and review) is much appreciated!**

**-RozenPitch, a.k.a. Bree  
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	3. Chapter 3: Guest List

**A/N: Okay, quick note here: This takes place this year, 2010, so Ichigo's 15 right now. So, in 2005 he would be 11 (after his birthday). Just wanted to clear that up. ^^; Enjoy!**

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Chapter 3: Guest list**

Later on, after dinner Rukia decided to start working on the guest list for her coming-of-age ceremony. _Coming-of-Age Ceremony makes it sound so formal. _She thought. _I wish it could just be called a party. _She went upstairs to the room she and Ichigo shared (technically she lives in the closet, but oh well) and started searching for some paper and a pen. As she rummaged through his desk drawers for scrap paper, she noticed a small (but very thick) brown notebook with the label in big, bold, black letters "Ichigo's Diary" tapped to the front cover. She was curious, needless to say, but she knew that she couldn't read it now. She took quickly flipped through the pages and looked at some of the dates. "May 12, 2007"... "September 24, 2006"... "December 20, 2005" ... It was clear that he had been able to keep up with this diary for quite some time. _Man, how can he keep one of these for so long? I've never been able to do that!_

She heard someone's quiet footsteps coming closer towards Ichigo's room and she quickly hid it back into the drawer and moved along back to her original plan of trying to find some paper. Then, Ichigo came in and she quickly turned around.

"What are you up to? You have an awfully guilty look on your face," Ichigo said as he approached her. She quickly scrambled around looking for a reasonable excuse.

"O-oh, well remember how Nii-sama said I had to make a guest list for the party? W-well, I was looking for some paper and I couldn't find any, so I j-just started looking through your drawers for some," She said nervously.

"Really?" he questioned. "Usually when you need that stuff it's used to make one of your run-away letters with the crappy drawings," he said. Rukia shot him a quick death glare _I guess those evil death glares run in the family... _he thought to himself.

"Anyway, if you couldn't find some, then you could have just asked. Besides, it can't be that hard to find a single piece of paper. I mean, this is a clinic for crying out loud," Ichigo said as he opened up his backpack and ripped out a piece of lined paper from his math notebook. He handed the paper to her along with a pen. "I'm going to go take a shower now, don't destroy my desk, you go that?"

Rukia stuck her tongue out at him as he walked out the door. "Thanks for the brilliant idea!" He groaned at her last remark.

_That was a close one... _She thought. Rukia quickly took the diary out of his drawer and stuffed it in the closet and under her pillow._ At least it'll make for some interesting night-time reading tonight... _She thought. Now she was back to her original mission. _Let's see... all captains and lieutenants are attending so I don't have to list them. I guess I should invite Ishida, Inoue, Sado, Hanataro... Ikkaku and Yumichika... and Ichigo, of course._

_Ichigo... what's been up with him recently, anyway?! _She questioned. Remembering what happened earlier in the snow, she started blushing again. _H-He was just trying to be funny. It was nothing special!_ That last thought made her very depressed. _It was nothing special, really... but why does that make me feel so upset...? No, no, wait! I can't think about that right now! Guest list, guest list, guest list!_ She burned that into her mind and started writing more names down._ Sentaro and Kiyone... I wonder if Urahara and Yoruichi would be allowed to come? And the Vizordes, too... _She figured because it was ceremony, should could invite them, so she wrote their names down.

She couldn't think of any one else at the moment... She was exhausted, so she rested her head down on the desk. She started doodling all over the paper. She drew pictures of Chappy in all four corners of the paper and at the end of everyone's name. She spent more time on the Chappy next to Ichigo's name... adding a little heart next to it as well. Before she knew it, she was sound asleep, pen still in her hand.

As Ichigo turned the knob in the shower to turn the water on, he remembered the little episode he caused in the snow after Byakuya left and after about four hours, it finally hit him. _W-.... WHAT THE HELL DID I DO??!!! I was hardly even thinking... She probably got the totally wrong idea about what I was trying to do... She probably thinks I'm some sort of creep! _He was holding his hands in his head shaking it back and forth. _Should I apologize or... just not bring it up ever again? _he wondered. _Hopefully she would just leave it and think nothing of it. _There was an awkward silence inside his head for a moment. _Yeah, like she would just forget about me pulling her down and I could have... k-k-k-kissed.... _By the time he finished his thought he was banging his head against the shower wall loud enough for the neighbors to hear.

"Ichigo, you all right up there?" Yuzu called up from downstairs in concern. Ichigo suddenly snapped back to reality.

"U-Uh, yeah, everything's fine," He stuttered. _Man, I'm gonna have a huge bruise on my forehead tomorrow... I'm such an idiot._

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When Ichigo was finished with his shower, he changed in the bathroom and walked back into his room to see Rukia fast asleep on over his desk. _She really does fall asleep quickly, doesn't she? But it sure is cute.... Wait, what?! I didn't just say that... or think it, or whatever! _He was having a mental argument with himself inside his head again. After shaking it off, he walked up to Rukia and started shaking her shoulder. His head was right above hers, looking down at her.

"Hey, Rukia, wake up!" He said, trying to be gentle. "I'm sure if you sleep here it's gonna give you a pretty bad back ache tomorrow morning," He said.

Nothing.

He groaned and tried again. "C'mon, Rukia! Wake up alrea-!"

"NO CHAPPY! THAT'S NOT FANCY TUNA! IT'S JUST REGULAR OLD SUPERMARKET BRAND!" Rukia shouted as she flew her head up, cut off Ichigo, and hit up in the nose hard enough to give him a nosebleed and a soon-to-be bruise with the paper stuck to her face.

"HOLY CRAP, RUKIA!" He shouted in pain. "Oh my God... **** that really hurts!" He fell over on the floor rolling in pain.

"O-oh, I'm so sorry, Ichigo!" She apologized as she stood up. She tried helping him up and handed him a tissue to help stop the bleeding.

"I knew you had a hard head, but this really takes it to the next level," He said half sarcastic half serious.

"Shut it, I'm trying to help you," She said as she patted down the blood running out of his nose onto his chin with a tissue. "Something like this shouldn't hurt you at all," she remarked.

"When you suddenly get wacked in the nose with a hard skull, how would you expect to feel?!"

Stopping a possible fight between the two, Yuzu, Karin, and Isshin came in. "Ichigo, what on Earth happened to you?!" Karin questioned with concern.

"I'll tell ya later, just get something to stop the bleeding and pain!" He shouted in an angry voice.

"I'll go downstairs and get the first-aid kit!" Isshin said.

"Right." Yuzu, Karin, and Rukia said in unison.

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After Ichigo was all patched up and given a few pain killers, the two went up for bed. Rukia opened the sliding door to go into the closet. "Ichigo...?" She asked quietly.

"What's up?" He replied.

"I.... I'm really sorry about your nose," she said sincerely as possible. _Man that sounded really retarded. _She thought.

"Yeah, sure you are," He scoffed. "I wouldn't buy that apology in a million years."

That made Rukia tick. She turned around and walked up to him slowly. She stood up on her tip-toes and took his shirt and pulled it towards her. She whispered quietly in his ear, "I"m serious. When I apologize, I mean it."

Ichigo was a bit shocked at first but then replied, "Uhh okay, I-I believe you!"

She let go and walked back over to her closet, stepped in, and shut the door. _I wonder if he realized what I just said..._

He stood there, puzzled at first, but then it snapped. _So I guess she didn't let that little incident go, huh?_

Now Rukia finally had her chance at looking through Ichigo's diary for some dirty little secrets. The first date was December 1st, 2005. She began reading...

_December 1st, 2005_

_'The name's Ichigo Kurosaki. As of now, I'm 11 years old and it's safe to say that I literally hate my life._

_Wow, talk about rash. _Rukia thought to herself.

_Why? It seems every since my world came crumbling down two years ago when my mom died everything's gone horribly wrong. I can't think straight at all. I can't talk to any of my so called "friends" about anything because, hell, they don't understand._

Rukia took another break and looked up. She felt so bad for Ichigo, she couldn't read any more of that passage. It just had a scary vibe to it. She started flipping around to some of the other dates.

_March 1st, 2006_

_Today at school I got into another fight with those thugs. They beat me down to my ass and gave me some scars._

She had to stop again. She couldn't even think about those things happening to him. She skipped to passages from about half a year ago. Right around when they met.

_June 6th, 2009_

_Finally. It's finally stopped. It's not raining in my world anymore, I can feel it. It was her. When she came into my world, she was like a ray of light. Rukia stopped the rain._

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**Woot! I finished another chapter! I originally planned on making it longer but it would be like... twice or maybe even three times as long as the other two. Besides, I wanted to get another chapter out for you guys and I think this is a good way to end it. It also adds more onto Chapter 4 which so far... is really short. O_O Anyway, r&r, you know the deal, it's much appreciated. Thanks! ^^**

**-RozenPitch, a.k.a. Bree**

**P.S. That one scene before Rukia read the diary... I tried not to make that too fluff-ish... I want to spread it out more.... O_X**

**P.P.S. If anyone can figure out where that line from Rukia's dream is from, I will be very proud of you. ^^  
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	4. Chapter 4: Unexpected Advice From Him

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for not updating for like... a week. Been quite busy lately... but I hope you can enjoy this chapter! ^^ Oh, warning, this chapter has not-so-mild HitsuHina-ness, so beware! ^_^**

**Chapter 4: Unexpected Advice from... Him?  
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**January 8th; Six days to go -**

Ichigo woke up to the sound of a roaring snow blower around 9:00 the next day. He slammed his hand to his head and caused searing pain. Then he remembered his little episode in the shower last night. _Damn I forgot all about that, _he thought to himself. His forehead was bruised and he gave him an incredible headache. _Three advil aren't going to cut it for this..._

He got up and opened the shades to see a blinding cover of white snow everywhere. It had snowed more overnight, it seemed. He saw Isshin in the front yard with his John Deere snow blower clearing the drive way, side walks, and the places where the usual visitors would park. It looked like he was having way to much fun with it as well. He walked over to his closet and opened the door to see if Rukia was still asleep. He found her curled up into a ball with a pool of drool next to her mouth. _That's... pretty disgusting. __But at least she gets to sleep later than me..._

After he got dressed, he went downstairs to find Yuzu's morning meal cooking. It was blueberry pancakes topped with strawberries and bananas with powdered sugar with a glass of orange juice and a side of bacon, just what he needed to get himself awake. He took his seat at the head of the table and waited patiently for his breakfast.

"You seem awfully eager for breakfast today, Ichigo," Yuzu said happily. She was always happy to see someone who wanted her cooking. _He's been in an awfully strange mood lately... I'm glad this'll cheer him up!_

Ichigo just sat there quietly staring off into space.

"I-Ichigo, are you all right?" Yuzu questioned.

"U-Uh, yeah I'm fine. What were you saying?" He stuttered as he came back to his senses.

"Oh, it's nothing..." she trailed off. Yuzu had a sad expression on her face as she worried for her older brother. _I hope he snaps back to usual soon... _"Anyway, breakfast is ready!" She cheered trying to change the subject.

"Great!" He stuffed it down quickly and ran back upstairs quietly, grabbed his wallet, jacket, and was out the door. "Yuzu, if anyone asks where I am just tell 'em that I went out for a little while and that I probably won't be back till later, okay?" He shouted from outside.

"Yeah, sure Ichigo!" And with that he was off.

_Man, I hope I'm not going to be late... He'd give me a lot of grief if I was!_

_-_**Flashback-**

_"Hello? Rangiku? This is Ichigo, can I talk to Inoue for a few minutes?" Ichigo asked over the phone._

_"Yeaaahhh, shurrree *hic hic* thangggg...." she slurred and trailed off as a sure sign of having way too many bottles of sake._

_"Hello, Kurosaki-kun?"_

_"Hey Inoue. Do you think it would be all right if you, Renji, and I all met up in town square tomorrow? I need your guys' advice on a few things," Ichigo asked of her._

_"U-Uh, yeah sure. What time would be best?" She asked_

_"How does 10:00 sound to you?" He suggested._

_"Sounds good, I'll see you there!" And with that she hung up and it was settled. He had already called Renji and talked it over with him, the conversation going as quick as that one._

**-End Flashback-**

_They're probably the best ones to ask... Renji, the best friend and Orihime, the girl-friend, would probably know the perfect present for her... 'cause somehow I don't... _Ichigo thought to himself. He didn't want something cheesy like Chappy the Rabbit pajamas like he knew someone was bound to get her. Something special, something meaningful, something she'd remember for a long, long time. But... what? He took a quick glance at his watch which read 9:53 and he was about 15 minutes away from town square. He started running faster and faster. He was on the corner where an ice cream shop and a flower store met and as he ran passed the people on the street and turned the corner, he bumped into someone.

_Ooof!! _Another bruise, and this time it would be on his shin (he hit shins with the person he bumped into)_._

_"_Hey, what's the big idea, Kurosaki?!" He heard a familiar voice scream at him.

"T-Toshiro...? What're you doing here?" Ichigo asked, puzzled.

"That doesn't matter right now! And would you try to be a little more careful next time? You practically knocked Momo into the street!" He said as he helped Momo up. "And it's Hitsugaya-taicho!"

Ichigo got up off the ground and tried helping Momo up as well, but Hitsugaya shot him an evil glare which screamed "She's mine, stay away".

"Shiro-chan, you don't have to be so hard on him. It was an accident after all, right Kurosaki?" She asked in a sweet voice.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry. You're not hurt, are you?" He asked.

"No, but I can see you certainly are. What happened?" She was referring to his bandaged nose and bruised forehead and he didn't feel like explaining either at the moment.

"Um, I'd rather not talk about that right now, to be honest, it's kind of embarrassing... Anyway, what are you doing here in the world of the living, Hinamori?" He tried changing the subject.

"Oh, Shiro-chan was just showing me around a little bit, that's all," Momo said grabbing Hitsugaya's arm with a little tug. She looked at him and blushed. Ever since Aizen was defeated, she had had some more time to relax a little more and was spending more time with Hitsugaya, and what do you know? They weren't just childhood "friends" anymore.

"Not to sound rude or anything," Ichigo began, "but are you two like... a thing now?" Ichigo questioned curiously.

"W-What right to you have to ask something like that? Mind your own business!" He was blushing so hard that with his white hair and red face, it was like Christmas colors.

"Sorry, gosh, I was just asking. Besides, if you walk around like that people are going to get suspicious," Ichigo defended.

"Why you..." Hitsugaya began but was cut off.

"Shiro-chan, you don't have to hide it. I mean, what's the big deal?" Momo said. If she didn't stop him, things may have gotten ugly. Ichigo looked over at Momo with a look on his face saying, "Thanks a bunch, you just saved my ass." She returned with a quick smile that said, "You're quite welcome! After all, it's my job."

"Shiro-chan, do you think we can go over to that ice cream shop for a treat?" Momo asked happily.

"Uh, sure, if you want to," Hitsugaya said with the regular "cool-guy" expression. "See ya, Kurosaki," Hitsugaya said as he walked off with Momo.

Then, Ichigo had another question pop up into his head. "Toshiro! Hey, Toshiro, I have one more question!"

"What is it?" He asked. Momo stopped in front of him and turned around. Hitsugaya signaled that it was all right for her to go on in without him, so she did.

"You heard about Rukia Kuchiki's coming of age ceremony, right?" Ichigo asked.

"Of course I have. All captains and lieutenants are ordered to come, so it's only natural for me to have heard about it," he said in a smart voice.

_Man, is he ALWAYS this stuck up? _Ichigo asked himself.

"Well, have you ever done something for Momo's birthday?" Ichigo asked. You never know, asking someone with a girlfriend from Soul Society might be better than asking Renji and Orihime.

Hitsugaya scratched his head and thought for a minute. "Well, when we were little I would always make her home-made things like cards... and when we got older, I, well, started buying things for her."-

"Like...?"

"Why do you want to know?" He questioned Ichigo.

"U-Uh, well I'm not really sure what kind of presents Soul Reapers get each other, you know?" Ichigo said trying to keep a good resolve.

"Oh, I see," Hitsugaya said as a wide grin spread across his face. "Is it that you're trying to... Oh, I don't know, impress or flatter Kuchik-san?" He said with a little laugh.

"Of course not, what would give you that idea?!" The situation had just been completely reversed. Now it was Ichigo who was being teased by "Shiro-kun."

"Well, my suggestion would to be to get something that would definitely mean a lot to her... I know that's pretty 'general' and all but... Try something that she likes, and just... take it to the next level."

Momo walked out of the ice cream parlor and yelled, "Shiro-kun, come on, it's almost our turn in line!"

"Right, coming!" He yelled and walked away. "Hope that helped."

"Yeah, it sure did. Thanks a lot, Shiro-chan..." Ichigo was damn lucky he didn't hear that, or that time he definitely would've been a dead man.

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**A/N: Well... that was a pretty sad attempt at another chapter. It was told entirely from Ichigo's point of view, wasn't it?! (Well, third person, focusing on one person... you get what I mean! And is it just me or does the title suggest that "Him" is Byakuya? O_o Cause that's what it seemed like to me... Anyway, I wanted to get something out for you guys and I planned to make this a lot longer (as in not ending where it did) but if I did then the chapter would be like... a lot longer compared to the rest and I like to keep it a little bit balanced, so... yeah. I always add more detail than I plan to! O_o But I don't think that's necessarily bad. xDD Anyway, review, rate blah blah blah, and thanks so much for reading! ^.^ Next chapter I will TRY to make a lot better!**

**-RozenPitch, a.k.a. Bree**


	5. Chapter 5: From Cherry Blossoms to Ashes

**Hmmm.... I don't think I have to put any A/N up at the top for once! O_o I'll save it for the bottom this time. xDD Anyway, enjoy! ^_^

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**

**Chapter 5: From Cherry Blossoms to Ashes**

Ichigo took another glance at his watch which read 10:09. _Damn that wasted a lot more time that I intended. _He thought to himself as he started running again. After about five minutes of continuous sprinting, he found Orihime and Renji sitting on a park bench chatting as they waited.

Renji heard Ichigo's deep panting and saw him running towards them. "Hey, if you're going to go out of your way to arrange plans for us to wait in the freezing cold for you, the least you could do is **get here on time****,"** Renji ranted.

"Well excuse me, it's not my fault I bumped into The Walking Icicle of Doom on my way here." Ichigo knew it was actually his fault, but Renji and Orihime didn't have to know...

"Do you mean Hitsugaya-taicho?" Orihime said, popping into the conversation.

"Yeah, he was with Hinamori, too. He said she was just 'showing her around the city, but I think it was more than that, if you know what I mean. But you didn't hear from that from me, you got that?" He said with a smirk.

"Ha ha, yeah, you would be a dead man walking if he heard you told us," Renji said. "Anyway, what did you want anyway?"

Ichigo explained his situation and his loss of what to get Rukia for her birthday. This was Orihime's first hearing of the ceremony in the first place, so naturally, she had a lot of questions. "Rukia-chan's having a Coming of Age Ceremony?! That sounds so formal! Are we invited?"

"Well..." This was actually the first time he thought about it. "Probably, I mean why wouldn't we be invited?" He said.

"Then I have to figure out what to get her as well!" Orihime exclaimed as she banged her fist on her hand. "Oh, wait, I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun! We need to figure out what you're getting her!" She said as she hit her head.

"So why exactly do you need advice from us? How would we know what go get her?" Renji asked.

"You're supposed to be her.... 'best friend', aren't ya?!" Ichigo yelled, red-faced. He had to say it again, Renji the "best friend", which seemed to make him more angry than the first time he thought about it. The way he was acting made Renji start to laugh, which only made Ichigo's face redder. "What's so funny?!"

"You're seriously that oblivious? Well... first off, calm down. It's called a joke."

Ichigo gathered himself and began to speak. "Okay. Do you want to start walking a little bit?" He asked.

"Sounds good to me," Orihime and Renji said in unison.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

As they walked through the local town square, which was filled with several kinds of stores, Ichigo did tons of various window shopping. They went from Macy's to Hot Topic, Barns and Noble to the Apple Store, hell, even from Gamestop to those small street vendors that sell over-priced crap, but he just couldn't seem to find anything he liked. When he found something that he thought she'd like, Renji and Orihime shook their heads and when they found something they thought she'd like, he shook his head. They couldn't agree on anything and before they knew it, four hours had passed. Their feet were so sore from probably five miles total of walking.

Ichigo buried his glove-covered hands into his pocket with frustration and grumbled. "Okay, just going around like this isn't working out so well."

"Oh, gee, you think?" Renji complained.

"I'm hungryyy~~~~" Orihime added. It was around 2:30 already and none of them had eaten anything since around 9:00. Orihime's stomach was a bottomless pit and even though she did eat strange foods to begin with, she could it anything right now. Pickled prune flavored onigiri with wasabi sounded pretty good right about then.

"There's a small cafe over there if you want to stop for lunch," Ichigo suggested.

"You're buying," Renji said.

"Whatever."

When they got the cafe, they took their seats and browsed over the menu. It was fairly silent for a few minutes until Ichigo spoke up. "We're never going to find anything," he complained.

"Not with that attitude you won't!" Orihime said positively.

"Well, I'm up for any suggestions," He said.

"I heard that there was some new Chappy movie that just came ou-" Renji said but was interrupted.

"I've already made up my mind NOT to get her ANYTHING Chappy related," Ichigo protested. "I bet at least five people have already bought her something to do with that stupid rabbit."

"I guess that's probably true," Renji said. They all sat there thinking in silence once again.

_Maybe a home-cooked meal! _Orihime thought.

_Some knew cloths maybe...? _Renji thought.

_......... _Ichigo's mind was blank, totally out of ideas. His last resort was to go back to the basics. "Does she like jewelry?"

"Who knows?" Renji asked, making Ichigo form an anime-styled sweat-drop.

"Cloths?"

"Umm, people who DON'T like cloths are nudist."

"Books?"

"Nah."

"Music?"

"People who don't like music have no soul."

"Man, you're a real help. The most help I got today was from Toshiro," Ichigo said.

"Hitsugaya-taicho actually gave you advice?" Renji and Orihime asked in unison.

"Well, yeah, I mean why not, he's got a girlfriend now."

"What exactly did he tell you to do?" Orihime asked.

"He told me to, well, to take something that she likes and, well... bring it to the next level or something like that," Ichigo said.

"Well, why don't you do that?" Orihime asked cheerfully.

Ichigo laughed a little bit and said, "She likes a lot of stuff, don't you think?"

"Well, yeah, but wouldn't it be worth going through the trouble to get her something you think she'd like? I mean, we spent four hours there and you couldn't find anything you thought was perfect." She said.

"That's because nothing WAS perfect," He said.

"You're totally hopeless," Renji interrupted.

"Hey, I don't think you should be talking!"

Renji blew that last one off and took a quick glance at the clock up in the corner which read 2:52. "Crap, I have to get going soon. I promised Urahara that I'd try to be back 3:00 considering I didn't know it would take this long..."

Orihime glanced up at the time on the clock and also said that she had to get going home soon. After they finished their lunches, they went their separate ways. While Renji and Orihime went home, Ichigo continued shopping for the "perfect present". He walked along the sidewalk and looked at all the people around him. One of the small children was sitting on a bench stuffing his face with onigiri. Then he spotted a man in a suit crossing the street during a green light. All the cars stopped and honked at him loudly and the man just hobbled over onto the sidewalk. He looked like he had a hangover or was some kind of crackhead.

_There are so many different kinds of people in this world, aren't there? _Ichigo thought. He wondered if it was possible for a kid like the one that was stuffing his face with onigiri could end up like the hangover/crackhead man. _Anything is possible, I guess. I mean, I've changed a lot, for sure...._

Then he passed by a store that just seemed to catch his eye. He didn't know why, but it just did and he decided to walk in. _Renji didn't necessarily say "no" to this... I think I finally found it.__  
_

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Back at the house, Rukia was bored out of her mind. She woke up about an hour after Ichigo had left and she was just lounging around the house all day and never even bothered to get out of her pajamas. She was lying down on the couch with her pink and purple Chappy blanket she got from Renji for Christmas a few years back and was watching the C.S.I. marathon that had been on SPIKE all day. Yuzu had been worrying about her because she skipped breakfast and seemed to be in denial for some reason.

"Are you okay, Rukia-chan?" Yuzu asked. "You seem to be awfully tired and depressed today..."

"No, not at all! It was just that school was a little bit hectic yesterday and I just wanted to relax a little bit," Rukia said with a smile.

"Hectic...?" Yuzu questioned?

"Oh, just a lot of work, you know?"

"Ohh... yeah, all right," Yuzu said and walked away.

The truth was that she was worrying about her dream last night.....

**_She was in a huge field of cherry blossom trees. They were in full bloom and the wind was blowing hard enough to let the pink flowers loose from the tips of the branches. They were floating all around her and when Rukia held her hands up, similar to rain, they landed on her palms. _**_**When she brought her hands down to look at them, they suddenly burned to ashes. Then, all the trees around her fell to the ground as ashes and caused smoke to cover the field.**_

_**Rukia was running as fast as she could to try to find a way out. When she thought she could finally see a light, she ran towards it as fast as she could. But what she found wasn't light. It was Ichigo and he wasn't alone. He was being beaten with brass knuckles by those thugs she read about in his diary. He had bruises all over and his face had so much blood on it, she couldn't see his actual complexion.**_

_**Rukia couldn't contain herself and she ran to try to help. "Get away from Ichigo, you bastards!" But when she got close, they disappeared before her eyes. "Was that an... illusion?"**_

_**The smoke began clogging up her lungs and she started running towards another light, to find Ichigo alone in his room, and this time the scene she saw was even worse. Ichigo had a blade... and was cutting himself.**_

_**"ICHIGO!!!" Rukia screamed. "You have to stop! What are you doing to yourself??!!"**_

_**He couldn't hear her, not one bit. Blood was spilling out of his wrists and onto the floor and down his arm. She thought he was going to faint from too much blood loss.**_

_**She tried running towards him once again but hit what seemed to be like an invisible shield. She banged against it, harder and harder each time and even tried ramming herself against it, but nothing happened. "ICHIGO!!!!" Tears started pouring out of her eyes. She felt helpless and even though she knew it was the past, she wanted to stop it. She tried smashing the damned barrier one more time and it shattered. She was alone in the ashes again and she felt useless and helpless. She dropped to the floor and was crying her eyes out. "I can't do anything.."**_

_**Then she heard a familiar voice behind her. "Rukia..."**_

_**Rukia turned around to see Ichigo unharmed. He was like an illuminant figure standing in front of her, like a shining light.**_

_**"Finally, it's stopped. It's not raining anymore, Rukia, I can hear it. Not water, ashes, anything. It was you," Ichigo said. Rukia's violet eyes widened.**_

_**"Ichigo...?"**_

_**"When you came into my world, you were like a ray of light. Rukia, you stopped the rain..."**_

And that was the end of that.

_What does Ichigo think of me, anyway? _Rukia asked as she put her arm over her face and curled over into a small ball in the corner of the couch.

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**A/N: Woot woot! :D Got a lot of bold, underlined, italicized, capital letters in this chapter. It's also the chapter with the most words so far! Hooray! ^o^ And by the way, thank you Black Sun Upon An Icy Sky for Hitsugaya's nickname! xDD I hope you don't mind my using that. ^^; Anyway, thank you all so much for reviewing! ^_^ Only 4 chapters published (not including this one) and 20 reviews! That's awesome for a rookie like me! ; ; I love you all! (Especially you, Blaze! x3)**

**-RozenPitch, a.k.a. Bree  
**


	6. Chapter 6: Too Good to be True

**A/N: Sorry for not updating in a while. =__= I wasn't home at all last weekend or the weekend before and I've been busy with school work and YouTube stuff lately, so... There's my excuse. Anyway, please enjoy this next chapter! ^_^ WARNING: If you don't like a little bit of Ichigo being EMO, then watch out!!!!**

**Chapter 6: Too Good To Be True**

Ichigo was so preoccupied with his accomplishment that he almost didn't hear the Menos howl in the distance. _Damn... I forgot all about those! _He thought. His mind was so filled with details concerning Rukia's ceremony that he forgot about the frequent Menos attacks recently. After he found a dark alley, he took out his Substitute Shinigami badge and soon enough was off to go find it. He carefully placed his body next to a few garbage cans because for once he actually cared about what he did with his body because her present was right inside his jacket pocket.

His sixth sense of detecting spiritual pressure seemed to be working well that day and he soon found the Menos in a nearby park. With a quick Getsuga Tenshou, it was gone, done and done. After it was gone, Ichigo noticed a soul of a young boy hiding under a nearby cherry blossom tree. He slowly approached the young boy and as he got closer, he could hear him whispering to himself. "47... 48... 49.. 50!!" The boy turned around and ran right into Ichigo's chest and fell backwards against the tree.

"Hey, what the hell was that for?" The boy questioned in an angry voice.

"Excuse me? I just walked up to you and then you got out of your way to ram right into me? And watch that tongue of yours!" Ichigo yelled back with a scowl. The young boy had a similar face to Ichigo's, permanent scowl and had an attitude similar to his as well. He didn't want to give into anything, even though he knew it was wrong.

"Ugh, just go away, I'm busy right now!" The kid yelled and started to walk away.

"Hey, wait, you get back here right now! I have to send you to Soul Society!" Ichigo said and grabbed the kid's shoulder and turned him around.

"What the hell is Soul Society? That sounds retarded," The boy shot back with an annoyed look on his face.

"Why you little dirtbag..." Ichigo began but was cut off by a small voice from behind.

"Zero, what are you doing?" A young girl with long black hair said as she came out from behind a nearby rose bush. She had a pale face and sapphire eyes and wore a long, white dress bordered with lace at the ends of the dress. She was beautiful, and it was easy to see why the boy, apparently named Zero, blushed when she emerged.

"K-Kotoko! What are you doing, we're still playing!" Zero said with a red face.

Ichigo glanced over at the boy and saw his tomato face and decided to have a little fun. "Oh, is that your **_girlfriend? _**Was I interrupting important?"

"Not at all! This is none of your business!" He protested.

"Zero, you don't have to be so harsh," Kotoko said in a quiet and calming voice. "Who's your new friend, anyway?" She said as she looked at Ichigo.

"I didn't even bother learning his name because he's just that useless," He said as if Ichigo wasn't standing right there.

Ichigo refrained from getting violent with the little kid because he didn't want to upset Kotoko. "'The name's Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Shinigami."

"Ichigo? That's a nice name. It means 'One who protects' does it not?"

He starred at her in confusion. No one had actually translated it as "One who protects". It had always just been strawberry. "Uhh, yeah, that's right."

"Sounds way too cool for someone like YOU," Zero shot at him. "C'mon, Kotoko, let's go." He grabbed her hand and started to walk away.

"Hey, wait, I still have to perform the Konso!"

"What if we don't want you to?" He said as he stuck his tongue out at him.

"Zero, we shouldn't protest. What if another one of those giant monsters come back?" Kotoko asked with a worried look.

"W...Well, I guess if you really want to..." He obviously had a hard time not giving into that sweet little girl.

Ichigo couldn't help but let out a chuckle. When they walked back over to Ichigo, he turned his zanpakuto around and plopped it on their foreheads. Before they were set to Soul Society, Ichigo gave a quick wink to Zero and said, "Good luck, pal."

Zero tried to ignore his comment but, again, couldn't help but blush.

"I'll see you on the other side, okay, Zero?" Kotoko said to Zero with a smile.

"Yeah, definitely!" He said, happiest he's looked since Ichigo saw him. And with that, they were gone.

_I hope they really do end up seeing each other again. _Ichigo thought to himself as he started to walk away. He scratched his head and couldn't help but have that strange feeling of déjà vu.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

When he made his way back to where he left his body and entered back into it, he checked his pockets to make sure the present was still there and... it was gone.

_No... No... No, no, no, no, no, NO! This can't be happening...! _He searched his jean pockets, front and back, and his coat pockets. He checked all over the ground, under the dumpster, around the dumpster, and he even went out of his way to go dumpster diving, but nothing. _I knew it... it was too good to be true. _Ichigo checked his wallet to see how much cash he had left. A ten and three singles... _That won't get me squat. F*ck.... F*ck... F*ck... _A few tears started rolling down his cheeks but he tried to toughen up and wipe them away as if it were no big deal, even though he knew it was._ Seriously...? I can't worry about something like this. I'd look like an idiot if someone saw me sulking like this. I can find it... I can find it... I can find it...  
_

He got up and started looking behind old boxes and inside all the old garbage cans, but nothing. _No, wait... How could it've gotten in there?_

After about an hour more of searching, he decided it was useless and gave up. He started making his way home when he got a call from Orihime. "Hey, Kurosaki-kun. How'd it go?"

There was a silence for a minute until Ichigo spoke. "I'd really rather not talk about it," He said quietly.

"Oh, I see...," she said in a sad voice.

"Thanks for asking though..." he said trying to be a little positive.

"O-Oh, no problem! Well, call me or text me if you find something!" She said and with that, hung up. She could tell he really wasn't in the mood for talking. _What could've happened...? _She wondered.

Slowly, Ichigo started walking home... very slowly.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

When Ichigo finally got home and opened the door, it was like an automatic reaction for Rukia to shoot up off of the couch to greet him, similar to a dog when his owner got home, and she had the puppy-dog look on her face to match. She sat on the couch and stared at him with giant violet puppy eyes. That caught Ichigo's eye and looked over to her with a strange expression on his face that screamed, "What the hell are you doing?"

"What?" She asked.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"What, is it not polite for people to greet each other when they get home?" She questioned with an annoyed look on her face.

"O-Oh, of course not you just look really stupid. Well, compared to the usual stupid look, that is," He said with a laugh. He was trying as hard as he could to not show any of his sadness or frustration, or worse, take it out on her.

"Why you fool-!!" She said and was about to assault him but was cut off by Karin and Yuzu walking in.

"Hey, what are you two arguing about?" Karin asked. She looked at them suspiciously.

"Nothing, just informing the household midget about her stupid looking face," Ichigo said nonchalantly as he hung his jacket up. He stuck his tongue out at her in a half playful/half teasing way.

"Why you..." She said as she started rolling her sleeves up getting ready for a nice knuckle sandwich.

"Now, now, Rukia-chan, I don't think that would be a good idea. Ichigo's hurt enough as it is right now," Yuzu interrupted.

Rukia made a sad face and sighed. She rolled her sleeve back down and re-plopped herself onto the couch to continue with her CSI marathon. It was harder than you'd think to not give into little Yuzu's pleads.

Ichigo sighed and headed upstairs to think a little bit. He walked into his room and trailed over to his desk. He pulled his drawer open to find something missing; a small brown notebook.

Back downstairs, Rukia took her iPod out and put her headphones (Yes, the big clunky headphones because the ear buds annoy her) one and went into the artist section. She scrolled down to "O" and picked Owl City, her favorite music group. Ever. She hit shuffle and the first song to come up was Meteor Shower, her fifth favorite. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

In Ichigo's room, he was searching through every drawer, under his bed, everywhere, except the closet. _No, Rukia wouldn't have taken it. She's to stupid to even find it. _He thought, but she was more clever then he took her for. _I'm having a seriously bad problem with losing things today... What's next, my pants? _Ichigo thought and slammed his hand against his drawer (Like Harry did in the beginning of the third Harry Potter movie, if you don't know what I'm getting at)_. _He was frustrated beyond words at this point and went back to his desk drawer. He opened one of the compartments and took out a small knife covered by a black, leather sheath. He starred at it for a moment until he unsheathed it and put it next to his wrist.

He was hesitating and shaking; it had been so long since he'd done this, practically half a year, he almost forgot how. It used to be instinct, a daily routine. He slowly pressed the blade against his wrist and as soon as the blood started to ooze out he jumped back and dropped the knife. _What... what am I doing to myself...?_

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

**_I can finally see,_**

**_That you're right there beside me,_**

**_I am not my own,_**

**_For I have been made new_**

**_Please don't let me go,_**

**_I desperately need you..._**

Rukia had been asleep for about two hours and that same song had been on repeat the whole time she was asleep. If you do the math, that comes out to about listening to that song 60 times. She started hearing it in her sleep and that mixed with the smell of Yuzu's dinner being prepared woke her up. When she sat up, she rubbed her eyes, stretched her arms, and got up.

"Have a nice nap?" Yuzu asked when she walked into the kitchen.

"Yes, a very nice nap, thanks for asking," She said with a smile.

"That's good," Yuzu said. "We're having my homemade beef ramen!" She said with a smile. Yuzu seemed to be making everyone's favorite dishes that day because as soon as Rukia heard the good news she ran into the kitchen excitedly.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Rukia asked. She wanted to do anything to help because the more people working on it, the faster it would get done, and the faster she could devour it.

As it turns out, Ichigo, too, had decided to take a little nap. But before he went to bed, he bandaged up his wrist and you'd think that with him living in a clinic and all he'd know how to apply a bandage, but no. He had the white bandage strips hanging out of place and it was so loose that you could pull it off with ease. When he woke up he noticed it was even more insecure than before. _Damn, why won't this just stay on? Everyone's going to expect something really bad... _He also noticed dinner cooking downstairs and couldn't resist his sister's cooking. _Why can't I have the gene that gives me at least some decent cooking skills? _He thought.

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**A/N: Yeah, that was a pretty sad chapter, I know :( But it is what it is... Lol you don't even get to figure out what his present to her was! Anyway, I hope you liked my OCs at least a little bit. XD I know OCs can be annoying sometimes, but they're like... not that important, so don't expect a lot more from them. Anyway, R&R, blah blah blah, I love all the reviews you guys supply me with, so keep em coming! ^_^**

**-RozenPitch, a.k.a. Bree  
**


	7. Chapter 7: Invitations and Visitations

**A/N: Hello everyone! ^.^ I know it's been a while since an update, but here you go, my first chapter with over 3,000 words!!! :DD Enjoy!

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**Chapter 7: Invitations and Visitations  
**

Overall, Sunday was a pretty boring day. Everyone had woken up late, around 11:00ish, and weren't really doing anything productive; Other than Ichigo. He had gone back to the same place to look for the missing present, but nothing was found. Then, he decided to take his knife, and all evidence of that past, and dispose of it. _If anyone were to find that, I wouldn't be in a very good position, _were his thoughts. Soon enough, Monday rolled around and it was back to school.

**January 10h; Four days to go -**

When Ichigo's iHome alarm clock went off, the two heard the song New Divide by Linkin Park. While Rukia preferred softer electronic music, Ichigo was more of a hard-core alternative/rock guy, which didn't seem to make Rukia very happy. She liked rock and all, but she'd rather not wake up to loud singing, drums being banged, and screaming guitars. She quickly got up and out of the closet and shut the music off right when it was getting to the part where the guitars were doubled and the drums were twice as loud.

"How can you wake up to that at 6:30 in the morning?" Rukia questioned. There was no response.

"Hey, Ichigo, are you awake?" She asked. Again, there was no response.

"Hey, it's time to wake up!" Apparently third time's not the charm.

"Well... it's your fault if you're late again and you know what sensei said she'd do to you if you were late again this semester," She said as she shrugged and walked away.

As always, Rukia was very fast to get ready in the morning. She never spent hours on applying any makeup because, well, she didn't need any makeup. Her pale complexion was beautiful and she was told that she would ruin it if she ever tried any makeup, even blush.

By 7:15, she was ready to go. Usually she would leave by then, off to take her time. Students had to arrive at school by 8:00 sharp. On good days, Rukia would be out of the house by 7:30, if not earlier, and would take her time. She would usually take the long way through the park to gaze at the new flowers that were blooming, but because it was the middle of January, cold, and the trees were as bare as could be, that didn't really seem like fun. So, instead, she would walk over to Orihime and Tatsuki's neighborhood and walk to school with them.

She was about to leave, but she noticed Ichigo still hadn't gotten out of bed. She had always been a bit compulsive and apparently, today was one of those days where it was more than usual. She rain up the stairs and peered into Ichigo's room to see that he was in fact still asleep. Walking over quietly as possible, she heard his soft breathing gradually become heavier. _What the heck...?_

She removed the blankets from him to see that he was curled up into a ball and was sweating all over. She was worried, so she continuously shook him back and forth trying to wake him up. Eventually, she decided to be a little rambunctious and jump up on top of him.

"Ichigo! Ichigo, c'mon, you have to wake up now," She shouted.

"Nnnggghhh..." Ichigo murmured. Ichigo slowly opened his eyes and glanced up at Rukia, whose face was less than 6 inches away from his. "R-Rukia, what are you doing?"

"I'm waking you up, you idiot! Why didn't you get up before?!" She shouted in an angry voice.

"I didn't hear you or the alarm clock..." He said in a soft voice. "And, umm, w-why are you so close t-to me?" He stuttered.

At first Rukia made a peculiar face in confusion, but then looked down at her positioning. Each of her hands were on either side of Ichigo and her legs were positioned similarly but, of course, down lower and her knees were bent. She couldn't believe she hadn't realized her awkward and somewhat suggestive pose before and blushed. She tried to move, but she was frozen.

"U-Uh... uhh..." She stuttered looking for the right words.

Ichigo didn't know what to think about what she was doing. _She didn't mean it like that, she COULDN'T mean it like that! She's not that kind of person! _And she really wasn't. But if you walked into the room and had no idea what was going on, what would you be thinking?

He casually tried to break the tension between the two. "Oh, I see, is **that **how it is? I didn't think it was like **that, **Rukia," He said with a wide grin. That earned him a nice slap across the face and a nice wake up.

"O-Of course it's not like **THAT!** What kind of person do you think I am?" She angrily shouted.

"It was a joke, gosh..." He said rubbing the new red mark in the shape of a hand on his face. "You always take everything so seri-_ACHOO!" _Ichigo was cut off by multiple sneezes in a row, which caused Rukia to shoot up off from him and question him.

"What the hell was that for?!" She shouted wiping the spit-snot off her face.

Ichigo reached over to his desk where there was a box of tissues, grabbed on, and blew his nose.

"Hey, I asked you a question, I expect an answer!" Rukia demanded.

"Hey, do you think I did it on purpose? Where would sneezing on you get me in life?" He said in a frustrated tone.

Rukia, wanting to move on from that whole experience, said, "A-Anyway, we should really get going, Ichigo."

"Ugh, I think I have a cold...."

"Hmm, I wonder why? Probably from staying outside for what, five hours, on Saturday?" Rukia said obnoxiously.

"Oh, shut up."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Later that day, Rukia and Ichigo ended up walking, no, wait, _running, _to school together. There wasn't much conversation and it seemed awkward for both of them.

_Seriously, I didn't mean to be on top of him like that!_ Were Rukia's thoughts.

_Gosh, why doesn't she believe me when I said I didn't hear her when she tried to wake me up? And, seriously, sneezing on someone isn't THAT big of a deal, and that's what she's making it. _Were Ichigo's thoughts.

Soon enough, it was lunch time and the usual crew, Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Chad, and Uryu were all gathered together in the hallway. Usually they would go to chat and eat on the roof, but seeing how it's still covered in snow, they figured it wouldn't be a good idea. Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro would be coming soon, so Rukia wanted to hand out her invitations as soon as she could. She stood up in front of everyone and began to speek.

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make. As some of you may know, my birthday is coming soon. It's Friday, actually... Anyway, last Friday, after school, Byakuya came and informed me that Soul Society has been planning 'Coming-of-Age' ceremonies for the members of the noble families and because I'm a Kuchiki, that pertains to me. It's going to be held on my birthday, so I know this is kind of sudden, but you guys, Ichigo, members of Urahara Shoten, the Vizordes, and many other people are going to be invited. Would you like to come?"

Orihime remembered that she had to act surprised when she heard the 'new' news.

**-Flashback-**

_Ichigo, Renji, and Orihime were walking through the local shopping center, Ichigo brought up an important point that Orihime should remember._

_"Orihime, you have to be sure to act surprised when Rukia tells you about the whole ceremony thing, okay? She has no idea that you guys are helping me, and as far as she knows, I haven't talked to you at all since Friday afternoon during school. If she knows that you know about the ceremony, she may get suspicious, you know?" Ichigo reassured._

_"Oh, yes, of course! I'll make sure she has no idea whatsoever!" Orihime said as she stuck her fist in the air._

_"Be sure so sound as convincing as possible."_

_"Right!"_

_"And if you can, try not bringing her birthday up before she does."_

_"Right!"_

_Renji gave Orihime a peculiar look as she walked around and talked to herself about how the 'secret was safe with her'. He leaned over to Ichigo and whispered into his ear, "Are you sure she can be trusted?"_

_"I'm sure she'll be fine." Ichigo said. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure how good she was with keeping secrets, so he was hoping for the best._

**-End Flashback-**

"Oh, Rukia, really? That sounds like so much fun! I'll definitely be there, I promise!" Orihime said in a cheerful, but one of those non-convincing voices.

"Sounds interesting. Although, I'm not so sure it's a good idea being associated with shinigami again, if you know what I mean." Uryu said. It's true, ever since the Winter War ended, Uryu and his father have been on bad terms. Again. Ryuuken didn't like the idea of his son affiliating himself with shinigami. "But... I'll see what I can do. After all, I'm sure it would be quite nice to revisit everyone again."

Chad just stood there and nodded his head. "I think I'll be able to go. I don't see why not."

"That's great! I'm so glad everyone, well, hopefully everyone will be able to make it!" Rukia said with a smile and laugh.

Ichigo was standing a few feet away from everyone else admiring Rukia. He loved the way her smile resonated, and it seemed to make him smile, too, and without realizing it, he started to stare. But, apparently, everyone else except Rukia noticed it. Uryu let out a silent laugh to himself and Orihime just giggled a little bit. Chad, as usual, did nothing.

"What's so funny, you guys?" Rukia questioned.

"Oh, it's nothing," Orihime and Uryu said in unison.

Just about then, Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro came around the corner and their private conversation ended.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Later that day, after school and after her homework was finished, Rukia was lounging on Ichigo's bed reading the latest volume of Ouran High School Host Club. She had an unusual addiction to reverse-harem manga and Ouran happened to be her favorite. Ever since she started reading it, she's wanted to get the subscription to Lala magazine, the manga magazine it's monthly published in, but Ichigo always told her it would be a waste of money, so he wouldn't let her.

She always loved the couple of Tamaki and Haruhi. Somewhat stubborn and idiotic with sensible and sane, a perfect couple. All she could do was wish for a relationship as perfect as theirs.

When she finished, with a cliffhanger as always, she started to walk downstairs and as she turned a corner, she bumped into Isshin.

"Oh, please excuse me," Rukia said politely.

"Oh, no problem," He said with a smile. "How could I ever be mad at my third daughter?" He said in a loud voice and patted her on the head. She let out a small giggle to herself. "Oh, by the way Rukia, are we invited?"

Rukia stood in silence for a moment, as she didn't understand his question.

"Don't you remember? I'm a shinigami, too! You and Ichigo keep forgetting, don't you?"

_Oh yeah, that's right. _It's true, the two had been frequently forgetting, as it was hard to remember, or even believe. And Rukia had forgotten to formally invite him.

"Yes, of course! Sorry for not inviting you, Karin, and Yuzu earlier. I guess it just happened to slip my mind. But how did you know about the ceremony in the first place?" She questioned.

"Oh, do you not know?" Isshin asked. "Jushiro, Shunsui, and myself grew up together! We were in all the same classes together, and all three of us had the top grades in all our classes, too!" He said proudly. Rukia was surprised with how casually he addressed the two captains. But what she was more surprised about was the fact that he was at the top of his classes.

There was an awkward silence.

"What, do you not believe me? We're all the same age, trust me!" He said frantically.

"O-oh, not it's not that!" Rukia said. "It's just that you seem like the type of person that would umm...."

"Do well in any kind of school?" He finished for her.

"P-P-Please don't take that the wrong way or anything! I'm sure you did great!" Rukia said nervously.

"Well, you can only imagine I did well! Healing kido was always my best!" He said proudly.

"Why do you think that?" Rukia asked.

"Well, if I wasn't good at it, why do you think I would be working in a clinic?" He questioned.

Rukia never really thought about that before. "No wonder your patients are always healed so quickly!" She said in realization.

"Have you ever wondered why I favor using anesthesia more than most doctors would? I do it so they won't be able to tell that I'm using the kido spells. If it's only minor injuries, I tend not to use it that often." He explained.

Many things were clicking in Rukia's mind now. She wondered how so many of his patients were so quickly cured and healed, and ever since she found out he was a shinigami, that hasn't really been her mind focus. "I see...." She said. "But how come not all of your patients survive? Like Orihime's brother for example?"

Isshin made a deep sigh. "I never have used kido to save lives. It's just not permitted. In cases like Orihime's brother's, it was a guarantee that he would die. Any doctor would've agreed," he started to explain. Rukia nodded her head and listened in on the rest of his story. "If I healed him and he was suddenly fine, people would start to become suspicious of me. If they thought that I suddenly had a miracle cure, the public would want to know my secret, correct?" Rukia nodded again. "Well, as you can imagine, Soul Society wouldn't be in much favor of that. Kido is alright to be used on minor, non-fatal injuries, but other than that, it's just not allowed."

Rukia noticed that their conversation was starting to get a little too intense than she would've liked it to. She also noticed that it was getting a bit off topic.

"W-Well, I think that pretty much settles things. I guess I'll see you there on Friday then!" Rukia said as she walked away down the stairs. Isshin gave her a worried look.

_Perhaps that was a little bit too much...._

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

After their conversation, Isshin decided to go to visit Masaki's grave. Usually, he would only go on the anniversary of her death, but he thought that it was a bit of a... special occasion. He didn't dress fancy or anything, because, well, it just wasn't his style and he knew that wasn't the man his wife knew.

When he arrived at her grave, he lit the ceremonial candles and left a bouquet of flowers by the headstone. He also left a pack of her favorite flavors of onigiri as an offering of peace.

_So, it's been a while, hasn't it dear?_ He prayed to her.

_Yeah, I guess it has. _He replied to the silence.

_I have the feeling that something big will soon happen in the development of our son, dear! He's finally starting to become a man, I know it! I'm just so excited for him. It's good that Rukia's such a nice girl. I know she'll be perfect for him!_ He prayed to her excitedly. He thought about everything that he thought would happen, but he knew it was a bit too soon for the wedding plans just yet.

_But you know our son, hot-headed little Ichigo. Well, not so little anymore, huh? Hopefully he'll come to the realization that she's definitely the person he's needed at his side all these years._

He could almost hear his wife's faint laughter of agreement over on the other side. Just then, it started to lightly sno

_More snow? Well, I guess this could only be a sign that we're right. Perhaps fate will be the one who decides the two young lover's fate. Even if they don't consider themselves lovers just yet._ He let out a small laugh to himself and continued on his conversation for 2 and a half more hours until he was covered in six inches of snow._

* * *

_**A/N: I don't know why, but for some reason I really like the title of this chapter. It just has a certain ring to it, ya know? ^_^ Well, umm.... I don't think there's much need for an A/N this time! Haha, I'll try to update soon! Bye! ^_^  
**

**-RozenPitch, a.k.a. Bree-chan  
**


	8. Chapter 8: Dirty Sheets

**A/N: In chapter 7 it said that it was January 11th... That was a typo I didn't realize, it's actually the 10th! _ Sorry about that guys.... I went back and fixed it but I dont' think it really matters anymore. And is it just me or does the chapter title sound somewhat suggestive? O_o Trust me, it's not what it sounds like.  


* * *

**

**Chapter 8: Dirty Sheets**

That night Isshin almost didn't make it home by his own set curfew of seven o'clock sharp. On his way home, he had the heat in his car as far up as it could possibly go. As you can imagine, sitting in six inches of snow for two and a half hours would probably make you pretty cold.

When he arrived home, got out of his car and rushed inside, shivering. "Why hello my dear family! How are all of you this fine eveni-..." He averted to silence as he saw the giant mess that had been made in the kitchen while preparing dinner. Ichigo and Rukia were sitting on the floor, each with food in their hair, on their cloths, every place you could imagine possible. Rukia held a bottle of syrup in her left hand and eggs in the other while Ichigo held cooked onions in his left hand a box of powdered sugar in the other.

"Oh, so you think you can get away with that, do you, Strawberry?" Rukia shouted as she stood up and got ready to fire.

"Oh, yes, I believe I can, little Miss Midget!" Ichigo said as he stood up and started to back up. They started to slowly circle each other and gave their opponent a death stare.

"Hey, guys, what on Earth do you think you're doing?!! Look at the mess you've made in my kitchen!" Isshin questioned, analyzing the situation.

"Not now, dad, this is serious business here," Ichigo said, not even looking at him. Rukia swung the bottle of syrup by it's handle and got ready to open the cap while Ichigo got ready to fire the box of powdered sugar at her.

"On three we shoot," Rukia suggested.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Isshin tried to interrupt.

"Sounds good," Ichigo reassured.

"No, DOESN'T SOUND GOOD!!" Isshin tried to interrupt once more.

"One..." Rukia let the countdown begin. They lowered their eyebrows.

"Two..." Ichigo continued. They brought their weapons up.

Isshin knew at this point that words won't get into their thick heads, so he decided to do something he shouldn't have.

"THREE!" The two yelled in unison and fired. Unfortunately, it didn't go quite as they planned.

Instead of finding each other covered in their ammunition, they found Dr. Kurosaki covered in syrup and powdered sugar. Yes, he jumped in between the two and tried to try to stop them, but obviously failed. He stood there, sticky and white. He tried to wipe at least the food on his face off before he started his rant. The two backed up slowly.

"Now, unless you have a damn good excuse for this, Ichigo, oh boy, are you going to be sorry. _Real _sorry," Isshin said giving his son an evil glare.

"Hey, why the hell do you automatically assume that this is MY fault?!!" His son ranted. "You're such a kiss-up to Rukia and you ignore whatever your own son says!!"

Rukia stood behind Isshin, who had his back turned to her and Ichigo was facing her and Isshin. She was giggling at their little dispute. She slyly leaned over so Ichigo could see her and gave him an evil wink, because she knew the real culprit behind their food fight. And it wasn't Ichigo.

"Why you little..." Ichigo murmured as he saw the look on Rukia's face. He sounded like Homer from the Simpsons with his 'why you little...' bit, and if he didn't restrain himself, he may have actually tried to strangle her.

"Son! That is not how you speak to a young lady! Now, I want an explanation! Now!" Isshin demanded.

Ichigo was about to blow a fuse, but he tried to calm himself a little bit. He let out a sigh. "Okay, you want an explanation? You got it."

**-Flashback-**

_After Rukia's conversation with Isshin and after she grabbed one of those small packs of pudding from the fridge, she went back upstairs to rest for a little bit. __She rested on his bed for a little while, and soon enough, fell asleep. Her little pudding pack had barely even been eaten and Rukia turned over, it fell over, and spilled all over his sheets._

_Rukia woke up about two hours later to find that it was heavily snowing again. She touched the window and it felt as cold as ice. After she took her hand off, she had seen that she had left a hand mark on the window. She decided to mark her territory and wrote 'Rukia was here!' in big letters on Ichigo's window. She smiled decided to head downstairs and get ready for dinner. When she turned around, she saw brown pudding stain on the white sheets of Ichigo's bed. Her mouth dropped and she could just picture the look on Ichigo's face when he found out about the little mess she left on his bed._

_She quickly rushed downstairs to see who else but Ichigo and Yuzu preparing dinner. She grabbed a paper towel and some fabric soap (Don't ask, I honestly don't know how to handle situations like this) and rushed upstairs. Ichigo looked at her running up the stairs, curious to what she was doing._

_Back upstairs, Rukia tried to spray the fabric soap on the sheets and scrub it out with the paper towels, but nothing. In fact, if she didn't know better, she would've thought that she just made the whole thing worse. She decided to just to take the sheets off and wash them with some bleach (no pun intended) and throw them in the dryer and hopefully it'll all be nice and peachy in the morning. But no. Nothing in Kuchiki Rukia's life is ever that easy._

_She took the sheets off Ichigo's bed and started to carry them downstairs. They were pressed up against her face and she could smell Ichigo's unforgettable scent resonating off of them. She was so lost in it that she slipped over the sheet and went tumbling down the stairs. The sheets flew out of her hands and when she landed flat on her butt at the end of the staircase, the landed right on top of her.  
_

_"Rukia-chan!" Yuzu called from over her shoulder and saw the poor hurt midget on the floor. "Are you all right?"_

_Ichigo and Yuzu, as well as Karin, who was on the couch watching TV, rushed over to see if she was alright._

_Rukia seemed lost. She tried to lift the sheets off of her and when she finally found the edges, she lift them up only to see Ichigo's face right by hers. You see, Ichigo was trying to help Rukia get the sheets off of her as well... This was one of the many face-to-face encounters the two have had recently, and just like the rest, it sent each of their hearts racing._

_"I-I-Ichigo, get out of my way!!" Rukia demanded, her face as red as the bow tie of her uniform._

_"Hey, what's wrong with you, I'm trying to help! And what are you doing with my bedsheets in the first pla-" Ichigo wasn't able to finish before she rushed into the laundry room and stuck the sheets into the washer. She put the detergent in, set the timer, and was back in the kitchen._

_"So, what WERE you doing with my bedsheets?" Ichigo demanded once more._

_Rukia was silent._

_"I asked a question, so I expect an answer," He said._

_Rukia let out a sigh. "Well... you see, before, I... brought up a snack to your room...." She said. "And well... I fell asleep and it spilled over and got all over the sheets..." She continued._

_A scowl started to spread across his face. "What kind of snack, exactly?"_

_"P...Pudding..." She murmured, looking away. She knew what was coming; One of those 'you should've known better', 'what on earth were you thinking,' type of speeches._

_"It was WHAT?! Why would you do that, Rukia?!" He ranted. "Of all places, it had to be my bed..." he grumbled._

_That made Rukia tick. It's not like I meant to! What good would I possibly get out of that?!_

_"Oh, so your bed was just the worst possible place it could be? Then, how about this?" She asked with an evil grin growing on her face. She went back over to the fridge and took out another pack of pudding, stepped onto a chair close to Ichigo, opened it, and poored it all over his hair. "If that's true, then this shouldn't be bad at all!"_

_And it went on from there. You can probably imagine what the rest was like._

**-End Flashback-**

Ichigo explained the whole thing, not missing a single detail.

Despite that, his father's opinion didn't really seem to change. "Well, you didn't HAVE to fight back, Ichigo. Poor little Rukia is still new to this human world, and you should've been the bigger person here, Ichigo!" Isshin said.

Ichigo gave up. He couldn't take his father's crap any longer. "Fine. Whatever. I'll take my punishment."

Isshin was rather surprised. He didn't think that his son would give in so easily. "I see... Just try to clean up what you can. Try not to stay up too late, though," He said, and with that, went up to take a shower and go to bed.

Rukia watched him go up the stairs and he could've sworn she heard him whisper to her, "You know, it wouldn't hurt to help the poor Ichi."

She looked back at Ichigo to see him getting up to go get the mop and bucket out of the cleaning closet. She suddenly started to feel bad for him. _He looks so upset... And it was my fault in the first place._

As Ichigo took the mop out of the closet, Rukia, who walked up behind him, took the mop out of his hands. "I... I'll help..." Rukia said quietly, who started to blush.

Ichigo also grew a small blush onto his face as well and said, "O-Oh... thanks.."

They started cleaning up the kitchen, and they were silent the whole time. _My original plan was just to make her feel guilty with my puppy-dog look... _Ichigo thought. _But look at me... Now I'M blushing... Dammit... _He couldn't get that little midget that was standing just across the room out of his head for the rest of the night.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Ichigo could barely sleep that night due to the uncomfortable and itchy spare sheets he had to use. They were old, in fact, so old that when he took them out from under Rukia's butt (they were stored in the closet where she slept) he spent about 10 minutes trying to get all the dust off.

Rukia also had an unusually uncomfortable sleep because of the lack of cushion in her closet. There were only a few layers of blankets. So few that she could feel the hard wood underneath her, and she didn't like it. A few times she even considered climbing into Ichigo's bed to sleep at least somewhat more comfortably. True, the soft blankets would make it more comfortable, physically that is. But the comfort she was thinking of was the security of being right beside Ichigo.

But she didn't do it. Dear God, no.

**January 11th; Three Days to Go  
**

But despite their sleepless night, they were both up early the next morning. They didn't want a repeat of what happened yesterday morning. Ichigo made a promise to himself that he would never sleep in again. Ever again.

That morning, on Rukia's way to Orihime and Tatsuki's neighborhood, she got a call on her Soul Pager. (Yes, an actual call, not a hollow alert) She reluctantly answered, because she knew if she didn't, she would regret it later.

"N-Nii-sama?" Rukia answered.

"Rukia," Byakuya replied. "We need you to come back to Soul Society today after you finish your school day."

Rukia got nervous for a minute. _Wait.... why...? _She thought to herself. _I'm not going to be going back for good, am I?_

"Why, Nii-sama? Is something wrong?"

"Well, because it's **your **party that is coming up, Soul Society only thought it would be fit if **you **came to help prepare a little bit.

Rukia let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, I see. I'll be there as soon as school ends!"

"I'll send a hell butterfly to come get you. Does that sound good?" Byakuya reassured.

"Yes, of course," Rukia agreed. And with that, Byakuya hung up.

_All of my conversations with him are so short... And in everyone one, he makes me feel extremely uncomfortable. _Rukia thought to herself. Then she remembered that she had to get over to Orihime's and Tatsuki's. She tightly secured her favorite Chappy scarf around her neck and started to run towards their neighborhood._  
_

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

School was, of course, another boring day for the crew. It came and went in the blink of an eye, and before she knew it, Rukia was to go off to Soul Society.

Then she remembered something. _Where is Ichigo going to think I am...?_

She decided to run home as quickly as she can and she wrote him one of her silly notes. A Chappy face in every corner and at the heading and closing, and of course, as a hint to help him decode it. When you decoded the letter, it read:

**_Dear Ichigo,_**

**_Byakuya's asked me to go to Soul Society for the rest of the day to help plan for my party. I probably won't be back until late tonight._**

**_-Rukia_**

**_P.S. Can you be a dear and put the sheets back on your bed and the other ones back in the closet? My back is killing me.

* * *

_A/N: I wanted this chapter to relieve some stress that was building up in the earlier chapters... I hope it worked. ^_^**

**-RozenPitch, A.K.A. Bree-chan  
**


	9. Chapter 9: Cinderella

**A/N: This chapter isn't as long as some of the more recent ones, but I think it gives a lot of... entertainment? xD Idk why, but there's something I like about it. Maybe it's the fact that the storyline is actually moving along a little bit? Anyway, enjoy! ^_^**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Cinderella**

Because Byakuya's original plan was to send the Hell Butterfly to the school instead of the Kurosaki residence, Rukia had to get back to school quickly. She sprinted there, almost bumping into a few pedestrians on the way. Despite her troubles, she got there just in time. Panting, she saw the black butterfly that signaled for her to follow. She quickly popped the Chappy Soul Candy into her gigai. "I want you to try to go to Inoue's. She'll probably let you stay there for a little while. Just don't go back to Ichigo's house."

"Why not?" Chappy asked with a cute look on her face.

"Umm..." Rukia muttered. "Just don't, all right?"

"Hmm, okay..." Chappy said cheerfully as she skipped off over to Orihime's place.

Rukia followed the Hell Butterfly through the senkaimon and found herself back in Soul Society. Waiting for her were Rangiku, Momo, Ukitake-taicho, and non other than "_Nii-sama" _himself.

"Hey Rukia! It's been a while, hasn't it?" Rangiku greeted her cheerfully.

"I guess you could say that, Rangiku-san," Rukia replied. Truthfully, it had only been about a month, and when you're a soul living in Soul Society, that really isn't considered "a while".

"Hi, Rukia-san! How've you been?" Momo asked.

"I've been doing well, thank you. And yourself?"

"Better. Much better, actually!" She said with a smile.

Ever since the little 'miss-hap' during the Winter War when Aizen disguised Momo as himself, she hadn't been in very good condition. Again. But, under Hitsugaya-taicho's orders, Momo was Squad 4's top priority. She still had a few bumps and bruises here and there with a few cuts, not serious, and definitely some scars. But then again, it's hard to leave a battle like that with no scars. But battle scars make you look tougher.

"Hello, Rukia!" Ukitake-taicho greeted Rukia happily, with a wide smile on his face. He stepped up towards her and patted her on the head. "So, your big party is coming up, huh? How's that feel?"

"Party...?" Rukia asked curiously. "I thought it was a coming-of-age ceremony..."

"Well," He started to whisper into her ear. "Technically, it is a coming-of-age ceremony, but you and I both don't think it should be that formal."

Rukia nodded her head. "Yes, I definitely would be a bit uncomfortable if that was the case..." She said. "But why exactly did you whisper that?"

Ukitake-taicho let out a small laugh. "Well, do you think your brother would like to hear me say that?"

Rukia nodded again. "Yeah, I can see that."

Byakuya then walked over to where the two were standing. "Rukia, come follow me," He said.

What a wonderful greeting.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Byakuya lead Rukia and everyone else over to the main meeting room (I can't remember if it has a name or not) in the center of Soul Society. In there waiting was Captain Commander, otherwise known as Old Man Yamamoto along with his lieutenant, Sasakibe Choujirou. Rukia's heartbeat started to slowly get faster and faster as she approached them.

"Kuchiki Rukia-san," Captain Commander said slowly.

"Y-Yes?" Rukia stuttered.

"I entrust that you have been fully informed about your current situation. Your coming-of-age ceremony will be held on your birthday. I know it may seem a bit fast, but we figured better sooner than later," He began. Rukia gulped.

"As I also hope you know, this is going to be a bit of an experiment. We just recently confirmed the whole situation, so we aren't necessarily sure on what the events will bit like."

_Great. Now I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to have to do._

"So, we've decided to let you make a few decisions on some of the events during the ceremony."

Rukia stood in shock. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped slightly. "I... I have to decide them...?"

"Well, you see, we do have a list of events that are going to required," he explained. "Choujirou, give her the list."

Choujirou stepped forward and handed her a piece of folded parchment.

"Now," he started once more. He got out of his chair and walked past everyone. "Follow me."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Captain Commander led the group to an area in west Seireitei, close to Rukongai. They arrived in a rather large garden where the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. _It's so nice to see the cherry blossoms again. It's nice to take a brake from the piercing cold in the world of the living, _Rukia thought. _But why have I never been here before...?_

They walked a bit farther until they approached a large building in the center of the garden. They could tell it was new; It just had a certain aura to it. It being new also explained why Rukia hadn't been there before.

"Is this where it's going to be held?" Rangiku asked.

"Indeed, Matsumoto-san," Captain Commander replied. "It was built very recently and is going to be used for events such as this," he explained. He walked forwards and opened up the huge doors and entered the room.

It looked even bigger on the inside. No, it looked huge. But it's utter emptiness didn't help it seem any cozier. It had brand new marble floor and white walls that still smelled like paint. In the back, there was a large staircase with a red carpet on it which connected to a balcony that circled the entire place. The railing of the staircase was a shiny golden color. It was like a ball room. Picture it like a fairytale. Yeah, that's it.

Captain Commander, who was standing in front of and facing opposite of everyone, turned around and said, "As you can tell, it's very spacious, so we suggest using it to its fullest, Kuchiki-san." He took a brief pause. "We will give you from today to the thirteenth to have all your events planned. But remember the list, because you'll have to be sure to include those."

As he finished he walked past the group and soon Choujirou followed. Byakuya and Ukitake-taicho then followed.

Byakuya was about to walk out the door but took a quick pause.

"What's the problem, Kuchiki-taicho?" Ukitake-taicho asked.

Byakuya said nothing and simply reached into his pocket of his shihakusho and pulled out an envelope that said "_Rukia"_ on the front. He turned around and handed it to her. "Rukia. Do not open this until your birthday. That's orders. Do you understand?"

"Yes, _Nii-sama. _Of course." Rukia glanced down at the envelope. She right away noticed whose handwriting it was.

_K...K-Kaien...?_

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Back in the world of the living, Ichigo was walking home from school slowly. Usually he would walk home with Rukia at his side, but today she 'mysteriously' disappeared. _Where the hell could she could've gone? _He paused for a second to think. Some of the worst thoughts crossed his mind. _Byakuya couldn't have taken her back to Soul Society for good, could he have? No... No, not so suddenly. I think I"m worrying to much..._

Little did he know that he had taken her back. But thankfully not for good.

When Ichigo arrived at home, he went upstairs to his room and noticed the note that had been left by non-other than Rukia.

_Shit...._

He momentarily paused. Could it have been _another _escape note? No. Not for a third time. Then again, Rukia did have a nasty habit of disappearing without warning.

He walked over to his desk and unfolded the letter. For once, there was actually nothing to decode. Isn't that convenient?

_Well, it's not as bad as I THOUGHT it'd be... I wonder when she'll get back... _He thought to himself. A sorrowful expression grew on his face. _Why does this feel like a problem to me? It's not really that big of a deal. She'll be back soon. No need to sweat._

Problems.... Problems.... Problems....

Ichigo remembered the real problem he had to deal with: Rukia's birthday present.

He groaned in frustration. _I seriously need to relieve some stress, don't I?_

That's when he reached into his desk drawer to take out his diary.

_Ugh, why do I even still use this thing? It's gotta be close to five years old by now. I can't believe it still has some blank pages, too._ He flipped through a few of the pages to find trail marks. Trail marks, you ask? They were doodles. Doodles of little Chappy bunnies that could've only been drawn by one person, and one person only.

And he knew that.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Back in Soul Society, Rukia, Momo, and Rangiku were the only ones left in the the... let's call it a "ball room" for now. Rukia had put the note into the pocket of her shihakushou, trying to shake it off for now.

"Okay, girls. Coast is clear, come on in!!" Rangiku shouted.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Rukia questioned.

"Hee hee, you'll see, Rukia-san," Momo said in a devilish voice.

"Wait, guys, what on earth is going o-" She was cut off by the door being swung open. In the doorway stood a crowd of people. No wait, a crowd of women, with Yachiru in the front.

"The Soul Society Women's League...?" Rukia questioned.

A wide grin grew on Yachiru's face. "That's us, and we're here to help!!!"

"But... why?" Rukia asked. "I-I-I mean, not that I'm not grateful or anything, just curious."

"Well, do you expect us to leave a fellow lady shinigami alone to plan this all by herself in such a short time? Of course not!" Yachiru said. The crowd entered the room and spread themselves out.

Yachiru... Nanao.... Nemu... Isane... Even Unohana-taicho and Soi Fon-taicho were there.

Nemu approached Rukia with a notepad and pencil in her hands. "Kuchiki-san, do you have any preferences for certain activities?"

"Well.... umm..."Rukia said. She finally unfolded the piece of paper that was handed to her by Captain Commander. She looked over the list of requirements and events to take place.

_All women must be wearing furisode.*_

_All men must also be wearing kimonos._

_An announcement of you arrival must be planned._

_A zanpakuto blessing must be arranged._

_It must last from 6:00-11:00 P.M._

_Any further questions, come and ask._

Rukia stared at the list for a while. _Okay, so I know what kimonos and furisode are. But an announcement of my arrival? And what on earth is a zanpakuto blessing...?_

She let out a deep sigh. "Well, for starters," Rukia began, "Captain Commander gave me this list of requirements. These will have to be made sure to be kept in mind."

"Understood," Nemu said in her monotone voice.

Rukia felt a hand touch the back of her shoulder. It was Unohana-taicho. "Is everything all right, Kuchiki-san?"

"Oh, yes, of course, Unohana-taicho!" Rukia blurted out and bowed deeply.

"Oh ho," Unohana-taicho said with a laugh. "There's no need to be so formal, Kuchiki-san."

"Oh, um, okay..."

"Okay, everyone! Quiet down now!" Rangiku shouted. As soon as the room fell silent, she began. "Okay, so in order to make the best, most kicking-ass party _**EVER, **_we're going to have to work extra hard!! I say that we try to make this thing have a theme! Any suggestions?"

Silence once again fell upon them.

"How about an underwater theme?" Yachiru suggested.

"That sounds so stupid!" Kiyone blurted.

"Hey! Like YOU could think of anything better!"

"You shouldn't insult Yachiru like that!" Nanao interrupted.

Soon enough everyone was in an all-out war with someone about something. Because of the room's utter emptiness, every little noise echoed like crazy, which meant it probably twice as loud. Rukia was the only one not in the middle of the war and was covering her ears, squinting.

Then it came to her.

"G... Guys?" She spoke up.

They all paused.

"How about Cinderella themed?" She had tons of eyes staring at her and with that next statement, she had tons of grins directed towards her as well.

"Oh my gosh, Rukia that sounds like an AMAZING idea!!!!" Kiyone said with excitement.

"Yeah, Rukia! And it is your decision after all, too," Momo added.

"Oohh, I can just imagine it now! The Rukia will walk down those giant stairs like a princess and she'll have the glass slippers and she'll be waiting to dance with her lovely prince!!!" Rangiku was this close to hypervenalating.

"Wait a minute...." Yachiru evilly questioned. Eyes once again met on Rukia.

"So Rukia... Who would the prince be? Huh, huh?" Several people questioned.

Rukia's face went from pale white to the darkest shade of red you could think of. "W-W-W-W-What c-c-could you p-possibly mean by prince...?" She stuttered as her mind flustered.

"Oh, you KNOW what we mean, Rukia. You can't play coy with us!" Momo teased. "C'mon now Rukia! We all know you have to like SOMEBODY!"

Nanao whispered into Soifon's ear, "I think it might be Renji."

Unohana-taicho joined in as well with the two. "You sure? They're not as close as they used to be."

"NO!! ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!" Rukia exclaimed. "There's no one out there that could possibly be my 'prince'!"

"I bet it's Ichy, isn't it?" Yachiru said slyly.

You'd think Rukia's face couldn't get any darker red than it already had been, but it did. "Ichigo?!! Ichigo??!!!" She said. Then she suddenly fell silent. "Ichigo..."

"SO IT IS ICHIGO!" Practically everyone in there shouted in unison.

Rukia let out a deep sigh, trying to shake it off. _Now I have to deal with this in Soul Society too. As if the girls in the world of the living weren't bad enough... _she thought.

The funny thing is she didn't deny it.

* * *

**A/N: I don't really know what I have to say as a closer this time. I guess just a big thanks to everyone who has been leaving me excellent reviews! I appreciate it a lot! ^.^**

**-RozenPitch, A.K.A. Bree  
**


	10. Chapter 10: Victorious in Many Ways

**A/N: Woot Chapter 10!! XD  


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**

**Chapter 10: Victorious in Many Ways  
**

Ichigo was flustered, to say the least. _Okay, so Rukia has gone to Soul Society and is supposed to be back late tonight. Yeah, like I'll believe that. Byakuya probably captured her and will have her there forever and now I find these stupid Chappy drawings all over this diary? What the hell? Why and how on earth would she want to even look at this? _He scratched his head and wondered what to do. _Should I just hide it in a different place? Or should I just abandon it?_

He started flipping through the pages that contained his previous thoughts on life and reread some of the three year old entries. _Wow... was I really like this back then? I can't really remember much considering I pretty much blocked out all memories of that. _He thought. And it was true. He hated thinking about most of his past, for various reasons.

One: He knew he was somewhat... emo? And he didn't really want to remember that and he regretted it greatly.

Two: He may be reminded of when his mother was alive, and that was one thing that would make him seriously emotional.

Three: He's a bit of a... nostalgic guy. Even though it didn't appear that way.

_God, I can't believe Rukia read some of this stuff. I wonder how much she read anyway. This thing seems like it could be a novel now. _He continued flipping through the various pages and noticed that there were only those unsightly Chappy drawings on about three pages. _Maybe she didn't really read all that much... _He hoped. For once, he was right. She only read three entries, traumatized by all but the last one.

Ichigo remembered how curious Rukia had always been. She had asked questions 24/7, either it be about how to put a straw in a juice pouch or why people loved potato chips so much or why it was weird to like headphones over the ear buds. She was always curious.

He let out a small laugh to himself. _Yeah, like she could be curious about what MY life was like. _His thoughts went blank for a minute.

_Then again, she did ask me about what happened to my mom back then. And she's always asking questions to Yuzu and Karin about when I was little and, as she put it, 'not in such a bitchy mood all the time'. I guess you never know..._

His thoughts once again went blank. Then, he realized something. No, he figured something out.

_Perfect. Well, might not be perfect, but.... hopefully it'll work. _A wide smirk grew out on his face and he shot up off of his bed and stuck the diary into his sock drawer, where hopefully she wouldn't venture to. He left his room with a sense of victory.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Back in Soul Society, the girls were planning Rukia's party. Nanao and Nemu had fetched some paper and blue prints for a floor planning of what was going to be where and when each event would happen. Ideas were springing of everyone's head, one after another, and Rukia was extremely confused.

"Guys, can you please try to calm down a little bit? I can barely hear Momo and she's right next to me!!" Rukia shouted as she tried to get everyone's attention. Some of of the talking had subsided, but it was still noisy.

Momo tapped Rangiku on the shoulder, who was one of the only people listening. Rangiku nodded her head.

"HEY!!! GUYS, SHUT THE HELL UP, RUKIA'S GOT SOMETHING TO SAY!" This time the noise completely subsided.

"What is it, Rukia?" The crowd asked in unison.

"Well... umm...."

Suddenly Rukia gained a burst of confidence. She stood up tall and said, "I really think we should get more organized!!" She said with a serious look. "Nanao, Nemu, and Unohana-taicho, make a list of things you think that could be included in a party with this theme. Yachiru and Kiyone, take this list of people and tell them that they are officially invited. Everyone else, see what you can do about helping everyone out and keep coming up with ideas. Except for Rangiku and Momo, you two come with me."

Everyone was shocked by Rukia's sudden demands, but they commended. Rukia led Momo and Rangiku out of the room into the garden to talk to them for a minute.

"What's up Rukia?" Momo asked curiously.

"Well, I'd like you two to help me out with something special," Rukia replied with a smile.

"Oohh, what is it???" Rangiku clapped her hands together as she asked.

"I think we need a DJ set up."

Momo and Rangiku stared at her blankly.

"D...J...?" They asked in unison. Rukia turned her head slightly as she, too, got the blank look on her face.

_Oh yeah. That's right. There are no DJs in Soul Society are there?_

"Well, a DJ is a big setup where people play music at parties and dance clubs and I think we need to get one for this!" Smiles grew across everyone's faces.

"Yeah, that sounds awesome!!" Rangiku raved.

"Yeah, brilliant idea Rukia!!"

"But there's one problem..." Rukia said quietly.

"What's that?"

"Well... they're pretty big... and I don't think we can transport one from the world of the living to Soul Society..." Rukia said in a more serious tone. She thought in silence for a moment until it came to her. _Oh yeah!!_

"I think Ichigo would probably let me use his iHome for the day!"

"i...Home...?"

_Oh yeah. They're clueless._

After about a good fifteen minutes of Rukia explaining the modern technology of the world of the living, iPods, iHomes, computers, cell phones, ect, they were fascinated. They had no clue about all the 'wonders' of the human world. "We're going to have to pick out a good amount of songs, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it'll have to last at least four hours because that's how long the party is supposed to be..."

"I could just come up with a huge list of songs and make a play list on my iPod for it," Rukia suggested.

"Play list?"

_Here we go again._

Back inside ideas were still spewing from one end of the room to the next.

"Everyone has to be dancing!"

"A couple's dance would be best!"

"Yeah, definitely!"

After even more explaining, Rukia, Rangiku, and Momo were all set. When she got back to the human world, she was going to pick out four hours worth of songs to play at her party and she had considered making one huge mega-mix, but that was too far ahead at the moment.

"Wait... why exactly did you need our help?" Momo questioned.

"Well... umm... I wanted to know if it was a good idea or not."

"Well of course it's a good idea!!" Rangiku laughed.

"Oh, wait, because it's Cinderella themed and Cinderella was an English story, how about choosing all the songs in English? Wouldn't that be cool?" Momo suggested.

A wide smile grew on Rukia's face. "Yeah, that would totally work!! It works perfectly, too. I'll pick a ton of sweet songs that would be perfect for...." Her voice trailed off and left Momo and Rangiku hanging.

"Perfect for what?!" They both moved in closer to Rukia.

"I-I-I-I-It's nothing!!!" She nervously stuttered.

"You were going to say couple dances weren't you...?" Rangiku asked mischievously.

"You were!!!"

"N-NO OF COURSE NOT WHY ON EARTH WOULD I SAY THAT?" Her face nearly exploded because of embarrassment.

"Aww, look at little Rukia. How about at the end we have Rukia have a nice sweet slow dance with the 'prince' we were all talking about earlier. We **_all _**know who it's going to be..."

"Of course, and you know what? I bet Yachiru will order the Soul Society Women's League to set up hidden cameras so we can take pictures and record the sweet, lovey-dovey dance and it'll be on the front pages of **_all _**of Soul Society's top headlines and newspapers..." Rangiku and Momo gossiped about their... possibly somewhat realistic fantasies.

Rukia let out a long sigh. _Wow, I never thought those two would be so inclined in someone elses' relationship... To be honest, there isn't much of a reason to deny it because the more I do, the more suspicious I become... But seriously, why do I keep getting like this?!! Getting all embarrassed out of nowhere because they mention a couple's dance?_

Couple's dance.... Another blush was let out by our little midget.

The first person that came to mind when they talked about Rukia having a prince, was of course, Ichigo. I mean, she lives with him for God's sake. It's kind of impossible for any teenager to NOT think about how something like that could go.

_Ugh... I'm so confused now. But seriously? Ichigo? Nah, that could never happen. We're friends. We're nakama. I seriously have to stop getting so mushy about this crap._

"Guys, how about we go back inside? I wouldn't be surprised if it was twice as loud in there by now."

"Ha ha, yeah, I can see that. We should probably go back."

Guess what? They were right.

Screaming here, shouting there, noise everywhere.

"I think we've done enough planning for today, don't you think? We can handle all the little details later."

"Definitely." The two girls said in unison.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

In the world of the living, Ichigo had to decided to try to wait for Rukia to come back home. He wanted to make sure she kept her promise of returning _on time. _He was waiting by his desk looking over the note. _Ugh... why can't she just tell me stuff like this? It makes me feel a lot better._

Just then Ichigo got a text from Tatsuki.

Tatsuki - Hey you up?

Ichigo - Yeah why?

Tatsuki - Can you tell me why Rukia is over at Orihime's place acting like a total buffoon?

Ichigo - WHAT?

Tatsuki - Did you give her beer or something?

Ichigo - Of course not! Why would I do that?

Tatsuki - Who knows. Just get her out of here please.

Ichigo let out a sigh as he realized that it was obviously Chappy in Rukia's gigai causing the huge mess. Ichigo still hadn't gotten around to explaining the whole shinigami bit to Tatsuki yet. But he would eventually. All he could do was hope that Rukia got home soon and got Chappy out of Orihime's place before her neighbors call the cops because of a disturbance.

Ichigo - I guess you're not the only one that won't be able to get some sleep tonight.

Tatsuki - What do you mean by that?

Ichigo - I'm waiting for Rukia to get back.

He tried to make it sound like he was waiting for the supposedly 'drunk' Rukia to come back but it was really the Rukia that was still in Soul Society.

Tatsuki - 'Kay. Night.

Ichigo - Night.

It was getting close to midnight and by then Ichigo had drifted off into a calm sleep, still at his desk.

When Rukia arrived back in the world of the living, she ran as quickly as she could back to Orihime's house to pick up her gigai. _Damn, why must it be so cold at night here? _When she arrived at Orihime's house she could already hear Chappy's insane giggling. She walked up and rang the doorbell to find Orihime at the door in a strange outfit. She had her hair in five ponytails and a pink polka-dotted dress that was much too small for her. Not to mention the green mascara and purple lipstick.

"O...Orihime?"

"Oh, hi, Rukia!! I'm sorry I had to come to the door like this, Chappy and I were having a ton of fun!! Playing dress up reminded me of being a kid again!!" Orihime was surprisingly fine with her appearance.

"Oh, okay... I-I'll have to take her back now, though. I have to get back home. Thanks for watching her."

"No problem!!"

Rukia had just arrived outside the Kurosaki residence. She hopped up to the window that led into Ichigo's room and entered as quiet as possible. The first thing she noticed that the usual calm and quiet Ichigo was missing from his bed. Then she looked over to his desk and saw him sleeping soundly with his phone still in his hand.

She let out a small giggle. She walked over to him and slowly took his phone out of his hand and read over the texts he had sent to Tatsuki.

_He was waiting for me? Aww, how sweet... _She looked over at him with a smile, blushing again.

She got an interesting idea.

_It couldn't really hurt... Besides, I may never get the chance again._

She bent over and gave Ichigo a small kiss on the cheek. The feeling of her lips brushing against his skin felt so nice and she wish it could've lasted longer, but she didn't want to ruin the moment.

_I can't believe I'm doing this... What if Rangiku and Momo are right? I just don't know anymore. Oh well, I'm still glad I did that...._

She quickly went into the closet where she fell asleep instantly, dreaming of her strawberry.

_It... It was just on the cheek.

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_**A/N: It's late right now but I really wanted to get this chapter up. I didn't proofread it that thoroughly, but... Just hoping I didn't make any mistakes. But I'm glad I got to add that IchiRuki-ness in at the end!! ^.^ Please tell me what you think and I love all your reviews!! Keep 'em coming!! ;D**

**-RozenPitch, a.k.a. Bree  
**


	11. Chapter 11: Rainbow Veins

**A/N: Hey guys! I know it's been like... three weeks since an update but I've been super-busy lately! I know you don't want to hear about my social life and all that crap, but I just want to apologize for that! O_o;

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**Chapter 11: Rainbow Veins  
**

**January 12; Two Days to Go**

Backaches.

For Ichigo this was something that was completely inevitable. He's fought Captains, espadas, and hell, he even killed Aizen. But backaches are what slowed him down. Everyone has their Achilles heal, don't they?

_Dammit, I couldn't have stayed up for 30 more minutes? I mean, I know Rukia got back safely, and thank God for that, but if I could've just stayed awake the tiniest bit longer, I wouldn't have this incredible pain in my back AND I would feel better knowing Rukia was safe..._

On the flip side, his wounds had finally started to disappear. From the bruise on his head from going ballistic in the shower to Rukia's hard head hitting his nose, they were almost all clear. He was thankful for his incredibly strong reiatsu for once, because that probably helped the wounds. He thought of it as a bit of a relief. Ichigo wasn't much of a pessimist. At least he TRIED not to be.

Ichigo had arrived at school just seconds before the late bell.

He was greeted with the usual.

An "ICHIGO! GOOD MORNING!" from Keigo.

A "Hey, Ichigo," from Mizuiro.

A "How's it going, Ichigo?" from Tatsuki.

A "Good morning, Kurosaki-kun!" from the ever-so-famous Orihime.

A "Hello," from Uryu.

Silence from Chad.

Completely normal.

Rukia sat at her desk, waiting for first period to start. She was purposely avoiding talking to Ichigo. She still didn't regret the kiss she gave Ichigo the night before, but she seemed to get nervous whenever they talked.

_No. _Rukia told herself. _I'm a Kuchiki, I cannot be like this. I stand tall, I am strong, and I DO NOT BLUSH._

Just then, Ichigo walked up to her. "Hey Rukia. `Mind telling me what you were doing last night?"

Rukia, the one who just swore to herself that she WOULDN'T blush, blushed. She scrambled to find the words she was looking for.

"Oh, were you worried about me or something?" Rukia said cunningly. "I was only gone for about eight hours. Can you not live that long without me?" Her cover-up worked well.

"O-Of course not! I'd just like to know where you are, is that too much to ask?"

"Didn't you read the note?" Rukia asked. "It said that I was going to help plan for my party, baka!"

"B-But you never said when you'd be back!" He tried defending himself, while the blushing seemed to have shifted from Rukia to him.

"Ahem, that was on the note too," Rukia said in a matter-of-fact way. "It said I'd be back late at night."

"B-B-But th... that doesn't mean... Uhh..," Ichigo was having trouble finding a comeback. Truth be told, he knew what the note said but he never felt secure with it. He always thought of the 'what-ifs'. 'What if Byakuya wouldn't let her come back?' .... 'What if she makes some kind of mistake?' .... 'What if something just plain bad happens?'

"What if I was just plain worried about you? I just want to know that you're always all right."

Rukia was stunned. Her eyes widened, her mouth slightly dropped, and she sat up straighter in her seat. "You... were worried about me?"

Just then, sensei alerted everyone that they day had started and cut their interesting conversation short . "Okay everyone, back in your seats! Time to start the next lesson."

Spacing off as usual, Rukia decided make a list of the songs she had wanted to use for her party. While sensei was in the middle of lecturing some kid about not doing his homework, she took out a piece of notebook paper and started scribbling down songs. Then she realized that she had never asked Ichigo if it was all right for her to borrow his iHome for the night. She tore a piece of the paper off and scribbled a note to Ichigo and passed it to him quietly.

'Can I borrow your iHome on Friday?'

Ichigo gave Rukia a questioning look. She whispered to him to just give her an answer.

He passed the paper back. 'I guess so, but what for?'

'I'm going to be playing music at the party and I think it would be more practical than trying to haul a boom-box or a DJ to Soul Society.'

'What songs?'

'You'll see, can you just give me an answer?' Rukia was starting to get annoyed.

'Well maybe with the way you're acting I shouldn't...'

When Rukia got the last part, she shot a dirty look at Ichigo and he started to chuckle.

'Would you please give me an answer? Please?' If writing could sound sincere, this would be it.

After Ichigo read her reply he looked over towards her and she had a big smile and pleading eyes. _Crap... I can't say no to that face... Wait, what?_

He wrote back. 'Fine, just as long as I get to help with some of the songs :P'

Rukia couldn't help but laugh when Ichigo used those emoticons. It was so out of character for him, but he mainly did it as a joke.

'Whatever, but of course, I must approve :3' Rukia decided to use an emoticons herself as well.

'You've got yourself a deal.' Rukia decided to end the conversation there, for two reasons. One, she didn't really know what else to say and two, sensei was finally done lecturing the irresponsible kid and was getting back to the lesson.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Later that day, Ichigo and Rukia were walking home together and they were thinking of the songs to use. "The songs have to be slow songs and they have to be in English," Rukia said.

"What? Why?"

"Well, because of the theme," Rukia replied. "It's Cinderella themed and because Cinderella's an English story, we decided that the songs should all be in English."

"But no one will be able to understand them!"

"Yes they will," Rukia defended. "The people of Soul Society are fluent in most languages around the world. It'll just be you and the other humans that won't be able to understand. Besides, you listen to Linkin Park and a few other bands that are English," Rukia said with a laughing smile.

"Why you little.... How am I supposed to help you pick out songs then?" Ichigo shouted frustrated.

"You can just listen to them or look up the lyrics or something and pick them out," Rukia suggested.

"Ugh, you make too much work for me. Do you have you iPod with you?"

"Oh, yes, I do!" Rukia said with a smile as she searched through her bag for it. When she found it, she pulled it out and held it up with triumph. "Here it is!"

Ichigo took the iPod and took the wire that connected the iPod to her big headphones, detached it, and attached his small white ear phones.

"Hey, what was that for?" Rukia tried to reach for her headphones which Ichigo was teasing her with by holding them over his head. But because she was... vertically challenged, she couldn't seem to reach.

"So we can both listen to it, dummy," Ichigo said dully. Rukia started to pout but eventually gave in and placed one of the ear phones in her ear.

"Okay, do you have any songs in mind so far?"

"Yeah, a lot!" Rukia seemed to be enjoying this. She heartily scrolled through her 400 songs. Ichigo moved a bit closer to her and peered over her shoulder. His shoulder was brushing against her back and his feet sometimes hit the back of her heels. "Hey, watch where you kick!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to."

She read out some of the songs she had in mind as she scrolled through her list. "Anthem of Our Dying Day... Chasing Cars... Fall For You... Miserable at Best... 1, 2, 3, 4... Never Alone... Open Your Eyes..." She went on.

"`Never heard of any of those," Ichigo said in a dull voice. "Play one for me, will ya?"

Rukia nodded. "I'll play... Oh, how about Rainbow Veins?" Rainbow Veins was Rukia's fourth favorite Owl City song, which was one of the more popular ones. She hit the play button and put the iPod in her skirt pocket.

**_High rise, veins of the avenue._**

**_Bright eyes and subtle variations of blue_**

**_Everywhere is balanced there like a rainbow above you._**

**_Street lights glisten on the boulevard and cold nights make staying awake so hard._**

**_For heaven's sake, keep me awake so I won't be caught off-guard._**

**_Clearly I am a passerby, but I'll find a place to stay._**

**_Dear pacific day, won't take me away?_**

After those few short lines, through their open ear, they both heard the howling of a Menos. Turning around in shock, they saw the shadowy figure walking and crushing cars in the distance. "How could we have not noticed that?" Rukia exclaimed. Then, a bit late, the order appeared on her Soul Pager. "Yeah, NOW it goes off. Tsk, this thing is really a piece of crap!"

"C'mon, let's just go!" Ichigo said as he pulled his Substitute Shinigami badge out of his pocket. Rukia took her Chappy Soul Candy out of her bag and plopped one in her mouth and they were off.

"Chappy, watch after Ichigo's body, you got that?"

"Roger that!" She said happily.

Ichigo and Rukia followed the earth-shaking footsteps to the heart of Karakura. There the Menos was knocking over trees left and right. Ichigo was about to move in and defeat it when Rukia stepped in. "Don't worry, Ichigo. I got this one."

"You sure about that?" Ichigo asked as he turned to her in concern.

"Yes, I'm fine. I can handle myself, thank you very much." Ichigo let out a long groan of frustration.

Rukia quickly shunpoed over to the Menos. It let out a loud screech and bent down to attack her but she quickly turned and evaded it. She shunpoed over to the other side and jumped up high in the air. "Mai, Sode no Shirayuki," she chanted. She twisted her arm and got ready to attack. "Some no Mai... Tsuki Shiro!" She yelled as the ice covered its legs.

_That's... it's more powerful than usual! _Ichigo thought as he watched in amazement. No matter how many times he saw Rukia fight, her angelic movements captivated him each and every time.

After a moment of struggle, the ice started to grow and covered the Menos entirely. It then shattered into millions of pieces, destroying it. Rukia put her zanpakuto back into her sheath and walked over to Ichigo. His mouth was wide open, starring at her. "Am I really that captivating? I guess I'm more powerful that I thought," she said as she waved her hand in front of Ichigo's face.

Ichigo blinked his eyes which signaled he was still in this world. He smacked Rukia's hands out of his view. "You just surprised me, that's all. Your attack was more powerful that usual," he said. "No wonder why they call your zanpakuto the most beautiful in all of Soul Society."

"It's the same as it's always been. And you know that a zanpakuto reflects one's soul right? Are you calling me beautiful?"

Ichigo quickly realized what he had said and turned away. He didn't want to see her to see his strawberry-red face. "Y-Y-Yeah, you just keep on dreaming."

By the time they got back to where Chappy and Ichigo's body were, Chappy was sifting through the songs on Rukia's iPod. She was listening to the song Lollipop by Big Bang and 2NE1 and was singing along. "I guess you like K-Pop, huh?" Rukia asked.

"Let's go now, saekggareun rainbow nal neuggin sungan neon bbajyeo beoringeol ara, You just can't control!" She sang.

"Great, more stuff I don't understand," Ichigo complained.

"Korean isn't really that hard to learn, you know," Rukia said. "It's pretty basic. You should try learning it some time."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Back at the Kurosaki residence after they had eaten dinner, Ichigo and Rukia had completed their list. Four full hours of songs! "You do realize that not all of these are all that soft, right?" Ichigo asked her.

Rukia sighed. "Well, I like them! Besides, none of them are screamo or hard rock or anything, so it should be fine. If anyone has any complaints about it, they come to me and complain. Besides, finding four full hours of soft songs isn't all that easy."

"Hmm, yeah I can see that..." Ichigo agreed.

Just then, Yuzu and Karin walked up the stairs and said they were going to bed. Yuzu asked Rukia if she could tuck them in and say good night and she happily obliged. Ichigo was also getting ready for bed when he heard Rukia's soul pager go off. _Is there really another hollow? _He thought. He picked up the phone and looked at it. He noticed something peculiar. The screen read that some one was actually calling her.

He answered the phone. "Ichigo's Mortuary, you stab 'em, we slab 'em," he joked.

"Kurosaki Ichigo? Is that you?" A familiar voice answered.

_Oh crap... That's... THAT'S BYAKUYA!_

"O-Oh, hi Byakuya. Sorry about that..."

"You insolent fool... How dare you speak to a noble that way!" Byakuya said feriously.

"No, you don't understand, I didn't know that was you that was calling! I'm sorry! I really mean i-" Ichigo was cut off, and frankly, he was saved when Rukia walked in and interrupted.

"Ichigo? What on earth are you doing with my soul pager?"

"RUKIA! It's Byakuya, you talk to him!" Ichigo said nervously as he handed her the phone.

"Nii-sama?"

Ichigo couldn't hear the rest of the conversation, and he was probably lucky. He didn't want to hear all the bad things Byakuya was saying about him.

When Rukia was done with her conversation, she hung up and looked at Ichigo. "What on earth did you do to make him so mad?"

"I just answered the phone, that's it," he defended.

"What exactly did you say?"

"Umm... 'Ichigo's Mortuary, you stab 'em, we slab 'em'."

Rukia sighed deeply and turned away. "Anyway, Nii-sama wants you and me to come to Soul Society tomorrow to get ready for the party."

"Huh? Why me?"

"I don't know, you'd probably have to ask him about that. All I know is right now you probably don't want to upset him. And by the way, we'll be staying the night there and you probably won't be coming back until Saturday."

Ichigo let out a groan. "Great, I get to waist my time doing THAT," he complained. "But whatever, at least I don't have to go to school for a few days. We should probably tell my dad and the others," he suggested.

"Maybe in the morning. Oh, Byakuya said that they have to come later that day and they'll also sleep the night. He said he had arrangements made with Kisuke for him to open up a portal for them to go through."

"All right, sounds all fine and dandy to me."

"Night, Ichigo."

"Night, Rukia."

* * *

**A/N: Again, sorry for the late update. D8 Like I said, I've been busy not only with rl stuff but online as well. Between youtube, fanfiction, and recently deviantart, it's kept me pretty busy. xD And by the way, I actually made a list of songs that Rukia used and it is four hours long. If anyone actually wants the list, I'd be happy to PM it to you. :3 And reviews keep the creative mind working! ;D**

**-RozenPitch, A.K.A. Bree  
**


	12. Chapter 12: Round and Round it Goes

**Okay... It's been more than a month since an update and I feel really bad about that. I was suffering from a big case of writer's block. I knew what I wanted to do but... It just didn't seem to be enough. But then about three days ago I had an epiphany and found out how to make it work! I made some changes from my original plans but I hope it works out in the end. And as an apology for my inactive-ness, I made this chapter really long and I think the story will soon hit its climax. I know this isn't a very long fanfic but it is my first and it's still an experiment. I just hope everyone can enjoy it.  


* * *

**

**Chapter 12: Round and Round it Goes**

**January 13; One day to go**

"Wake up, you fool, we have to get ready to leave!" Rukia shouted as she threw a pillow at Ichigo's sleeping face. He instantly flew up with a confused look.

"W-What? Whaddya mean?" Ichigo questioned, rubbing his sleepy eyes. (You can just picture him being so cute sleepy, can't you?) He looked around and saw Rukia's soul pager on his desk and suddenly remembered. "Oh. Right..."

"Just get up and get dressed or shower or whatever you have to do and come downstairs for breakfast. We have to leave soon, okay?" Rukia said. She was already showered herself and was heading downstairs for breakfast.

Ichigo slowly get up out of bed and groaned. He straggled over to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. _Hmm... Only one day away now, huh? It seems just yesterday I was told about the whole thing. _He got into the shower and was finished quickly and got dressed. He headed downstairs and noticed that Rukia was already finished eating and waiting on the couch watching the ever-so-famous Don Kanonji.

"Come on, Ichigo, would you hurry up already? We have to leave in five minutes!"

"Yeah, yeah, calm down, would you?"

Ichigo scarfed down a small bowl of cereal (unfortunately he didn't have time to eat Yuzu's 'exquisite' cooking) and was ready to go.

"Do you have the iHome?" Ichigo asked. He didn't want all the hard work they put into gathering all the songs last night to waste.

"Of course! How on earth could I forget it?"

"I'm just making sure."

He and Rukia were out the door right as the Senkaimon opened and they were about to leave when Ichigo suddenly remembered something. _The present!_

"Hold on, Rukia, I'll be right back," he said and quickly went back inside

"What? What do you nee-" she cut herself when she realized Ichigo obviously wasn't listening. _What on earth could he have left in there?_

Ichigo swiftly ran up the stairs and went into sock drawer and grabbed the present. It was messily wrapped in wrapping paper with cartoon bunnies on it. "Man, I hope she likes this..." He tossed it around back and forth for a minute but then remembered that Rukia was waiting outside, probably a bit annoyed by now. He ran back down the stairs and was about to go when Isshin walked down the stairs sleepily in his robe and slippers.

"Leaving alreaaady?" He yawned as he stretched his arms.

"Yeah. Apparently he wants us there early..."

Isshin walked over the the his coffee pot and poured himself a cup. "Why's that?"

Ichigo groaned. "I wish I knew. I could really use some more sleep right now."

Isshin laughed quietly. "Well son... I'm wishing you the best of luck."

"Luck? Why?" He asked with a confused expression.

"Well, to be honest, I don't think you really need luck at this point. I mean, you pretty much already have the girl in the bag, but hey, a little luck can't hurt right?"

Ichigo scowled. "What are you trying to say? Are you talking about Rukia?"

"Who else would I be talking about? Tatsuki-chan? Certainly not that Inoue girl. To be honest, I never really liked her that much. Rukia-chan is mush better suited for you."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever, old man. Sometimes I think you've really lost your marbles."

"COME ON, ICHIGO! HURRY UP, WE CAN'T WAIT FOREVER!" Rukia shouted from outside.

"Look, I gotta go now! See you tomorrow at the party!" Ichigo said as he ran out the door.

"Just remember, CONDOMS ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS!"

Ichigo just stomped out the door, rolling his eyes. "What was that all about?" Rukia asked.

"Please don't ask."

"I kind of just did..."

"Whatever, just don't bring it up again."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

When the two arrived in Soul Society, they were greeted by Momo and Toshiro. "Hello Rukia, Kurosaki-kun." Momo said.

"Hi Momo. Long time no see, huh?" Rukia joked.

"Hey, Hinamori. No need to be so formal, 'kay? Ichigo is fine."

"Oh, yes, of course Kurosa-, I mean Ichigo," she smiled back.

"Hello Kuchiki-san, Kurosaki," Toshiro greeted.

"Hey, Shiro-chan." Apparently Momo's nickname for Toshiro wasn't just hers anymore.

"Just consider yourself lucky because I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Toshiro said with a mean look on his face. Momo laughed at his response and grabbed his arm.

"Are you ever in a good mood?" She said jokingly.

Toshiro laughed. "Not around morons like these, that's for sure!"

"Well, lucky for _you, _**I'm **going to pretend I didn't hear **THAT**." Ichigo said with a similar look similar to "Shiro-chan's"

"Well, anyway, Kuchiki-taicho asked us to bring you over to the 'party room' when you got here, so I suggest we get going. You are a little late, too," Momo said.

"You can thank Ichigo for that," Rukia said.

"Hey, it's not completely my fault! My old man was stalling me for some stupid reason." Ichigo tried defending himself.

"You just love blaming all your problems and mistakes on him, don't you?" Rukia teased. But she wouldn't be surprised if Isshin really did have something to do with it.

"I swear, this time he really did try to stop me! He was babbling about giving me 'good luck' or some crap li-" He cut himself off. He didn't want to tell Rukia about their 'You have the girl in the bag' discussion. "Nevermind."

"Okay then..."

"Okay, I say we get going now!" Momo said as she lead them to the party room.

As they opened the doors, they saw about fifty people putting up decorations and such. It didn't look much like a party room anymore. It was certainly Cinderella's ball room now, no doubt about it. The gorgeous marble floor had been polished thoroughly and there was a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room. There wasn't much change, but nonetheless it was beautiful.

Ichigo wasn't one to be interested in this kind of stuff, but he too was impressed. "Pretty nice get up you got going here, huh?"

"Hell yeah," Rukia said. "I guess I'm pretty important," she joked.

"Guesso."

"Oh, Rukia, when are the others coming?" Momo asked. "Hanataro was asking. He wanted to know how many rooms to prepare."

"Hanataro is preparing the rooms for everyone?" Rukia reassured. "It's been a while since I last saw him. I'm going to have to go see him some time soon. Anyway, Inoue Orihime, Ishida Uryuu, and Sado Yasutora will be coming this evening but everyone else from the world of the living will be coming the following day. That includes Kurosaki Isshin and his daughters Yuzu and Karin, Urahara Kisuke, Shihoin Yoruichi, and a handful of Vizordes."

"Okay, I'll be sure to let him know."

"Hey, Rukia, Ichigo! Why don't you come over here and give us a hand with this?" They turned to see Renji trying to hang some drapes from the railings from the balcony that circled the room but they kept falling over.

"I'll help!" Yachiru yelled from across the room on the lower level. She stopped what she was doing and ran over. She jumped onto the drapes and started swinging back and forth. "How's that?"

"Hey, quit it! You're not helping at all! Stop before they start to rip!" Renji shouted frustrated. He angrily pulled it up all the way back to him and grabbed Yachiru. "Now listen Kusajishi, I gotta make this perfect and I don't need you screwing with me right now!"

"Oh, are you trying to impress Rukia-chan or something? I see, that's how it is! But I think she's more interested in Ichi-kun, so I would back off I were you," Yachiru teased back with a wide grin.

"Now listen you..." Renji began but was cut off by Rangiku.

"RENJI! Would you just put the poor child down, she doesn't know what she's saying, calm yourself!"

He pulled her off the drapes and when she was let go she ran back to the long stairs and slid down the railing. "Nice one, Yachiru!" Rangiku high-fived her. Renji just shot the both of them a scowl.

Rangiku looked over to see the four by the door. "Hey guys!" She ran over with a smile. "Four of my favorite people! But it's about time that you got here." She said and pointed to Ichigo and Rukia. "From what I understand Byakuya wanted to talk Ichigo about something, but I don't know what."

"Oh joy. I can't wait for that," Ichigo joked.

"Do they want us to help set anything up?" Rukia asked.

"Actually, I think we may have everything set. At least for now. We're going to take a break in a minute." Rangiku turned around and signaled to everyone that it was okay for them to take a break. A large amount let out a sigh of relief and quickly left the room leaving only Ichigo, Rukia, Toshiro, Momo, Rangiku, and Renji in the room.

"Holy crap, this place seems even bigger when it's empty!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"That's usually how it works," Toshiro remarked.

"How long did it take to build this place anyway?" Ichigo asked ignoring Toshiro's response.

"About two weeks," Rangiku said. "It didn't take as long as we had thought it would. But we had a team of top men working on the project," She paused for a minute. "Oh, Ichigo, I think there's someone here that would like to see yo-"

"ITSYUGOOOOOOOO~!"

Ichigo was attacked by tall beauty known by the name of Nel, who was quickly followed by Grimmjow. "Nel, would you please calm down?"

"Grimmjow? Nel?" Rukia said in surprise.

"What's it to you?" Nel pouted. "You're still my rival! Itsyugo will be mine! MINE!"

"I apologize. I'm still working on her," Grimmjow said. "I guess you're probably wondering why we're here."

"I'M WONDERING WHY YOU'RE NOT TRYING TO GET HER OFF ME!" Ichigo shouted in a frustrated tone trying to pry Nel off of him.

"Come on, Nel-chan, you can't 'get him' if you stop his breathing," Momo cooed. She and Rangiku lifted her off him and Ichigo finally caught his breath.

"Jeez, are you trying to kill me or something?"

"Tee hee, sorry Itsyugo. I just got a tinsy winsy but excited," Nel chimed in her cute voice.

"Anyway," Grimmjow started. "We're here to sort of... apologize. Now that Aizen's gone we've decided to not terrorize Soul Society anymore."

"Ah, I see," Rukia said happily. "No tricks now, right?"

"Of course! I would never try to hurt Itsyugo or his friends!" Nel defended herself.

"Okay, guys. How about we go see Hanataro and give him the information about who's staying and help him get the rooms set up, Ichigo," Rukia suggested.

Ichigo nodded. "Sounds good to me. It has been a while since we last saw him. See you guys later."

"Okay! We're probably going to head to get lunch soon! See you there?" Momo said.

"Hopefully. You never know how long it'll take, so don't wait for us," Rukia said as they headed for the door.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

As Ichigo and Rukia made their way over to the Squad 4 barracks, Ichigo started to spark up a conversation.

"So... have they made any new decisions as far as replacement captains go? I mean, it's been a while now."

Rukia nodded and thought for a moment. "I honestly haven't heard any news either. For the time being the lieutenants have been in charge of all their squads. Sort of like Kaien used to..." She trailed off in thought as she remembered Kaien's letter. _That's right... I still have to open his letter._

_Kaien? _Ichigo thought to himself. _I could've sworn I heard that name somewhere before. It sounds so familiar... _He scratched his head then shrug his shoulders. _Oh well. I'm sure that I'll remember it eventually._

"So... are you nervous at all?" Ichigo asked trying to keep a conversation up.

Rukia sighed deeply. "How could I not be? I mean, I don't really know what I have to do or what's expected from me. It's been less than a week since we were told about it in the first place and... I just don't feel very confident, you know?"

Ichigo merely smiled. "I don't think I've ever seen you this 'weak' before," He wrapped his arm around the little Kuchiki girl's head and with his other hand, he gave her a noogie as he laughed maniacally. Rukia tried to break free but he was too strong. "What happened to the strong girl I used to know? You have to be confident!"

After finally letting her go, Rukia said, "What the hell was that for? I'm going to have a sore head for a weak now!"

"A wake-up call!" Ichigo said. "But seriously, you don't need be nervous. Stand up strong like you always do, I'm sure you'll do great." He patted her head. "That's the woman I know you are in my heart."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" The first figure asked.

"I'm absolutely positive," the second one confirmed. "It's for her own good."

"Do you think she'll cooperate?" The first one asked wearily.

"I highly doubt it. But we can always hope."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Rukia stared at Ichigo with a blank expression.

"Does that speech sound at all familiar to you?" Ichigo asked, annoyed.

_"That's the man you are in my heart!'_

It clicked. "Oh. Right."

"Did you think I forgot about it?" Ichigo asked with a smug look on his face.

"I would hope you wouldn't forget... I mean, it's important to keep in the back of your head, you know?" Rukia said blushing.

"Then why didn't you remember?" Ichigo questioned. "I don't understand you sometimes."

"I... I... I'm sorry," Rukia replied, hanging her head down.

"There you go getting all upset on me again! I think you need another noogie!" He said, and followed suit by giving her the noogie she deserved.

"Rukia-san? Ichigo-san? Is that you guys?" A familiar, meek voice asked from behind them.

They stopped their argument and turned around to see Hanataro, who seemed to be in the middle of sweeping. "Hanataro? We were just talking about you!" Ichigo greeted and walked over. "Long time no see, huh?"

"Hello, Hanataro. It has been a while, hasn't it?" Rukia said as she walked over.

"O-Oh, yes it has been quite a while! I was just finishing up my cleaning duties..." He said as he gripped the broom. "W-Would you like to go for lunch afterward, maybe?"

Ichigo and Rukia both nodded. "We're actually going to go meet some of the other guys in a little bit. Wanna come join us?" Rukia offered.

Hanataro's face lit up, something it rarely did. "Yes, of course, I'd love to join you!"

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx  
**-Flashback-**

_"Hey, Ichigo, why exactly are you trying this hard to find Rukia a present?" Renji asked._

_Ichigo scratched his head for a minute. "Well, why shouldn't I? I mean, it's a special day isn't it? And I bet a ton of those stuck-up Kuchikis are gonna get her something that'll blow her mind, so my present probably won't seem that great..."_

_"I think it'll be great as long as you put a lot of thought into it, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime chimed in._

_Ichigo sighed. "I just want it to be able to mean something, I guess. By the way, what did YOU get her, Renji?"_

_"It took FOREVER to finally get my hands on it, BUT I was determined!" Renji announced proudly. Yes, Rukia is a big Beatles fan.  
_

_"Dude, just tell us what you got her."_

_"An authentic Abbey Road album, signed by ALL FOUR BEATLES."  
_

_Ichigo's mouth dropped down as far as it could go. "Holy shit, dude!" How much did that all cost?"_

_"More than you can imagine. But I swear, finding it was so frickin' hard. As if the internet wasn't confusing enough..."_

_"Well, I'm sure Rukia'll be quite pleased. I can tell you've been trying to impressive her," Ichigo teased._

_Renji sighed. There were two reasons behind trying to impress her, but it was complicated. "I... I know. But there's more than one reason behind it."_

_Ichigo obviously didn't care much about his excuses and he pointed out the next store he wanted to try out. "Let's try this one! I've got a feeling about it!" But of course his feelings were proven wrong. Again._

**-End Flashback-**

"Ichigo! Wakey-wakey!" Rukia said as he waved his hand in front of his face.

"Huh? Wah?" Ichigo said, confused.

"You must have been zoning out or something. Kinda weird, I never thought you were the type of person to do that kind of thing."

"Shut up, Midget," Ichigo fumed back.

"Oh, look, we're here!" Hanataro said excidedly.

_I wonder what Renji meant by more than one reason behind it. Oh well, I'm sure I'll find out eventually._ Ichigo thought as they entered the restaurant.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Later after lunch and after they had set up a little more for the ceremony, they started walking towards the main gate of Seireitei. The others were supposed to be coming soon. As the gate opened, the first one to come running out was Orihime herself, carrying tons of things.

"Oh, h-hey guys! Nice to see you again!" Orihime greeted everyone, almost tripping over her things.

"Hey, Inoue-san. Umm, do you need any help with that stuff?" Ichigo offered.

"She offered to carry it all, actually," Uryu said, coming in after her. Chad walked forward last, simply grunting in agreement.

"Oh, I see..." Rukia said, laughing a little bit. Rukia walked towards them. "Do you need any help carrying that stuff, Inoue?" She offered, reaching towards a pink bag with a bunny on it and tons of hot pink tissue paper.

"Oh, no, no, no! You can't touch that one! It's one of your presents, and there's no peeking now, is there?" Orihime said worringly. Rukia immediately backed off.

"You guys got me presents?" She asked, a bit confused.

Orihime laughed. "Well, of course we did! We're friends, aren't we?"

Rukia smiled back. "Oh, of course. Thank you guys so much!"

Hanataro lead Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Uryu, and Chad to where they would be staying for the night. They were small rooms within the Squad 4 barracks. The rooms each have one low platform bed and a low-to-the-ground desk. Hanataro decided to help Orihime with bringing in all her things.

"That sure is a lot of stuff you have there," Hanataro said.

"Yeah, I know. I tend to over pack a lot, I guess," she giggled.

Hanataro laughed meekly. "Well, I guess it's better than under packing."

Orihime was about to say something when they heard Ichigo and Rukia talking in the other room.

"What do you mean you're not sleeping here?" Ichigo asked.

"Hello, I actually live here in Seireitei, I'll be staying in the Kuchiki manor," she said in a 'matter-of-fact' voice. "You have a problem with that?"

"No, it's just that I kind of assumed that you'd be staying here."

"What, you upset because you can't stare at me in my sleep now?" She joked.

"Of course not! That's disgusting!" Ichigo fumed back.

"Oh, you know you want to," Rukia teased. That was the last of the argument they heard as they walked away.

Orihime signed in a somewhat admiring tone. "They really are close, aren't they?"

Hanataro nodded. "They sure are," he agreed. He looked over to Orihime who had a sad expression on her usually happy face. "You like Ichigo-san, don't you?"

Orihime sighed again. "Is it really that obvious? Well, it can't be helped. I try to leave the two of them alone, but... I can't help it, I can get so jealous of Kuchiki-san sometimes..." Orihime said, with a tear trickling down her face.

He whipped the tear off of her face. "I wouldn't worry about it that much if I were you," He comforted. "Try to realize the feelings of others around you. Especially Ishida-kun."

"Ishida?" Orihime asked.

"Quite frankly, yes. I think he may just have a soft spot for you," Hanataro said with a smile.

They heard a soft knock on the door. "Hello? Inoue, Yamada, are you in there?" It was Uryu.

Hanataro got up and opened the door. "Hello, Ishida-kun. Did you find everything alright in you room?"

"Yes, indeed I did. Thank you very much for setting the rooms up for us."

Orihime got up and decided to take the chance she had. "Umm, Ishida? Would you like to take a walk with me? From what I understand some of the gardens in Seireitei are supposed to be amazingly beautiful!"

"Oh, sure, of course," Uryu agreed.

The two walked out the door, leaving Hanataro behind. _Playing match maker can be fun sometimes. _He said to himself.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Later that day Ichigo was wandering around by himself when he suddenly remembered why he had came early in the first place. _Shit... Byakuya wanted to talk to me about something, but I never actually saw him! _He quickly hurried over to the area where the Kuchiki manor was. It was dead silent and there was no one to be found. "Hello?" He was about to turn a corner when he bumped into the man he was looking for.

"Oh, hello, Kurosaki. You came a bit later than I expected, but no matter. Let's get straight to business," Byakuya said in his monotone voice.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Ichigo agreed, a bit nervous.

Byakuya brought Ichigo into one of the rooms in the house and they both sat down on their knees. "Now, Kurosaki, this is serious."

"I understand," Ichigo said, trying to be serious himself.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Renji was wondering around the Squad 13 barracks, in search of Rukia. _Dammit, where the hell is she? I seriously need to talk to her... _He walked by one of the doors and saw her outside and it appeared that she was singing to herself.

"_To ten million fireflies, I'm weird 'cuz I hate good-byes. I got misty eyes as they said farewell," _she sang.

Renji stepped outside quietly. "Rukia? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Rukia quickly turned around and stopped singing. "Oh, Renji. Umm, okay."

"Rukia, you have to believe me when I say this. I was told not to tell you this but... I know we're not as close as we were when we were kids, and I feel awful about that. But nonetheless, you've always meant so much to me. When Ichigo was going to save you, I was so jealous that I couldn't do it myself. I felt like I wasn't good enough for you, and that killed me inside. But I've become stronger. I've become a man, a man that's right for you."

Rukia's simply starred at him. "Wha... What do you mean, Renji?"

"I was told under strict orders to not tell you this, but I can't help myself. Tomorrow at your ceremony, Byakuya wants me..."

"He wants you to..."

"Rukia, I was going to do this whether Byakuya told me to or not to. I just want you to know I want it, too."

"Renji, you're not making any sense!" Rukia said nervously.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"This is a final decision. You are not allowed to interfere at all. If you do, I'll have your head," Byakuya said strictly.

"I get it, would you please just say it?" Ichigo asked, frustrated.

As Byakuya told Ichigo his plan, he was shocked. _F*ck... I could really use that luck that my dad wished me right now._

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Renji got down on one knee. "Rukia, you are the world to me. You're more than my best friend, you're the one that I truly love." He pulled out a diamond ring and Rukia's mouth dropped open and tears started coming from her eyes. "Kuchiki Rukia... Will you marry me?"

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**DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNN! :O CLIFFHANGER! Okay, I know, I suck for that... But I promise I'll try to get the next chapter up soon! And it won't take as long, promise! And I'm sorry if anything was confusing, I really wanted to finish this chapter. I have to get up early tomorrow and I seriously need a lot of sleep right now. I didn't go back and re-read it and fix anything, so if it sucks, that's why. If I really need to fix something, I will in the morning. Thank you guys so much for your wonderful reviews! They mean so much to me!**

**-RozenPitch, A.K.A. Bree  
**


	13. Chapter 13: A Fight for the Prize

**A/N: I truly apologize about this chapter. It will probably give you eye cancer because it's so bad... I apologize... Oh, and parts of this chapter are told from Rukia's point of view, in case you're incapable of figuring that kind of stuff out.**

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**Chapter 13: A Fight for the "Prize"**

You know how when people die their life supposedly flashes before their eyes? I honestly think it's because they've come to some sort of realization. An epiphany, if you will. And I guess you could say that's what happened to me when Renji actually... PROPOSED to me.

As you can imagine, I was shocked. He really loved me like that? Byakuya really wants me to marry him? Is this the best thing to do? Am I really that special? There was still so many unanswered question I had, I couldn't possibly give him an answer. Just out of the blue like that? I had no idea what to say! And the best part is, I can't even explain why I'm crying. Could is possibly be mere confusion? Are they tears of sadness? Joy? I just couldn't tell. My emotions were all swirling around inside me, like a monsoon I couldn't control.

Renji stared at me, eagerly awaiting an answer. I turned away for a second. Out of nowhere, I got a sudden headache, pounding, _bum, bum-bump, bum-bump, _and it seemed to be with perfectly in-beat with my heart._  
_

I clenched my aching heart, looked back at him, and stuttered, "R...Renji... I... I have no idea what to say." More tears trickled down my face.

"Say yes! Don't you remember all the fun times we had together?" His voice started to soften to a comforting tone. "Rukia... I know this is sudden... But I've had these feelings for you since God knows when. You mean more that the world to me. No words can express my feelings..."

"Your feelings? What about mine?" I muttered in a crackling voice, my breath visible due to the cold air.

Before either of us could speak again, I heard two voices in the distance. "RUKIA!"

Both Renji and I quickly turned around to see none other than Ichigo and Byakuya racing towards us. Ichigo looked furious, like he wanted to kill someone... and Byakuya looked quite angry at Ichigo. The nearer they got the more scared I became. What did they want? This could only make matters worse...

"Ichigo..." Renji said as he gave him an evil look. "Now, of all times, that bastard..."

"Rukia! Rukia, what are you doing?" Ichigo said as he ran over to us, gasping for every breath.

"Get out of here, Ichigo, we're in the middle of something!" Renji snarled.

Ichigo snarled back. "Don't talk to me like that! Byakuya told me about your little plan for you to marry Rukia, but do you honestly think I'm going to let that happen? Without Rukia's consent at all? Hell no!" Ichigo looked over to me, his expression changed when he saw my tears. He quickly looked back over to Renji with an even angrier look than before. "What the hell did you do to make her cry?"

"What makes you think it's your decision? What's done is done, and she's going to marry ME!"

You've got to be kidding me... Renji and Byakuya, just treating me like some kind of prize. Have either of them even thought about my feelings AT ALL? Is this some kind of joke?

In the middle of my thoughts, I heard Byakuya's voice. "Both of you, stop causing a ruckus! What's done is done, and there's nothing you can do about it."

I started to back out of the scene.

"An arranged marriage? Seriously? Have you even thought Rukia's feelings at all? If she's going to be married to someone, shouldn't it be to someone she truly loves? It's just... It's just wrong!" Ichigo shouted.

Ichigo... Is it possible that he's the only one that understands me?

I just couldn't take it anymore. I just ran as far away from the place as I could. Please... Please let this be a dream...

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Neither of the three men noticed Rukia's escape. But soon enough, Ichigo and Renji started to get physical.

"I've known Rukia so much longer than you, she's been my best friend for years! I understand her more than anyone, by far! I know what she wants!" Renji screamed. He pulled out Zabimaru and as quick as a flash he released it. "Hihio, Zabimaru!"

He slashed it down like the whip that it was and Ichigo was barely able to move out of the way in time, but unfortunately the Kuchiki Manor took the damage. Part of the main door was smashed along with the roof.

"What the hell, Renji?" Ichigo screamed in frustration, narrowing his eyebrows. He briefly considered fighting back but he restrained himself.

Renji snickered as he started to prepare for a second strike. "Oh, are you afraid, you little strawberry?"

Ichigo was about to reach for his zanpakuto, but yet again, he refrained. _Don't do this... Don't do this... _"How could I ever be scared of you? I could easily kick your ass, hands down! I just don't see how this is fair to Rukia! Forcing love on someone isn't right, even if she does love you back!"

Those words went right into Renji's ear and right out the other. "Pathetic. Why is it that you don't want me to marry her? Is it because you love her or something?" Renji was about to attack again, but because of his last comment, Ichigo had already started to attack him.

Ichigo quickly swung his sword down, barely missing Renji. Renji shunpoed behind him, getting ready for a counter attack. "Huh? You gonna answer my question or what, Ichigo?" Renji taunted. Ichigo was able to block Renji's attack with Zangetsu, and they both backed down for a minute.

"Why on Earth do you care?" Ichigo barked back. "Besides, you've already had your chance!"

Renji was a bit shocked by Ichigo's last words. He stepped back for a minute as his eyes widened in realization. "You've got to be kidding me..."

Before Renji could finish his sentence, Byakuya interrupted. "Both of you, calm down already! Have either of you realized that Rukia's gone?"

The two looked back to where Rukia had previously been sitting to see nothing. "Forget it. I'm going to find her," Ichigo said angrily and stormed off, leaving Renji behind.

Byakuya walked up to Renji slowly. "That bastard... Always interfering with everything," Byakuya mumbled.

Renji closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "He's right, though..."

"Hm?"

"Ichigo's right. I did have my chance... But I just didn't realize it. She's moved on, for better or for worse."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

After I fled from the scene, I wandered back over to the border of Seireitei. I was hiding under a tree, cold and alone. The weather changes so easily here. I was shivering and still crying a bit.

My thoughts were swirling around in my head, yet again. I'm a Kuchiki, proud and strong. Decisions are often made for me, so it should be easy to deal with, but why isn't it? It's not like this marriage should change much. Renji and I have always been close, stuck together like glue. And of course I love him, to some extent at least. Whether it's a true, passionate love... I don't know. I can't comprehend this. The only plausible reason I could think of not wanting to marry him is because I love someone else more than I love him...

_You are truly getting too weak to keep control over this body._

"Who's there?" I said out loud. My tears momentarily stopped.

_You should at least recognize my voice by now, Rukia, _A second voice said.

I could actually recognize the second voice... It was Shirayuki... But who was the first voice?

_Who's the first voice, you ask? What a silly question! _The first voice snicked. _But it is true, Rukia... You are truly too weak for this body... I think we might have to take over it soon, actually. Such a shame. You could've done great things._

This voice can read my thoughts too? "Who are you! Answer me!" I said out loud, just in case.

_Oh, Rukia, I can hear your thoughts just fine. And I always have been able to. And who am I? Oh, you shall find out soon enough._

Shirayuki! Please, answer me! Who is this voice?

_I'm sorry, Rukia... I'm truly sorry._

After that, I heard an evil snicker from the second voice and then it suddenly stopped. What the hell was that? Who is that voice?

Suddenly, I heard a dinging sound that was coming from my pocket. It was my Chappy watch and the alarm was going off. It's 12:00, midnight. It's now January 14th, my birthday. I'm extremely confused and upset, and I can't even tell you why. I'm so pathetic... First Renji and Ichigo, and now these strange voices...

I couldn't remember much of what happened after those thoughts, but I think it started to snow... And then I drifted off to sleep. But I do remember my last reminiscences;

Yeah. Happy Birthday to me.

**January 14; Today's the Day**

**

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**A/N: I know this chapter is extremely short and really bad and I didn't even get a chance to re-read it and it probably REALLY sucks but I wanted to get it out so bad! I apologize again for a wait even though I promised to try to get it out quicker this time... I hope you at least semi-enjoyed it...?**

**-RozenPitch, A.K.A. Bree**


	14. Chapter 14: Framed Memories

**Chapter 14: Framed Memories  
**

**January 14; Today's the Day**

_**BAMM!**_

I felt (and heard) a hard metal object smack against my head which caused me to wake up in the middle of the freezing cold. I wondered where I was for a moment, then remembered the previous night's occurrences.

I rubbed my head and looked around me to find out where whatever it was that hit me was, but I couldn't find anything. I then got up and turned around to find none other than Kukaku Shiba standing right behind me with her pipe in hand and her metal arm on her hip. Oh...That's probably what hit me. Her robotic arm.

I jumped back from being surprised. "K-Kukaku? What are you doing here?" I asked as I rubbed my head a bit more. "And what did you hit me so hard for?"

Kukaku laughed. "I tried so many other ways but you seemed to be knocked out cold! I had no idea the Kuchiki Princess was such a heavy sleeper!"

I made a pouting face. "W-Whatever. Just tell me why you're here!" I said as I looked at my once more visible breath.

"I heard about your little coming-of-age ceremony thing! I figured that we could come, considering you knew Kaien and all. We can come, _right?"_ Kukaku asked slyly. I guess I forgot to invite her and Ganju. Oops...

"Oh, yes, of course you two can attend! Without question! I'm sorry I didn't invite you earlier."

Kukaku hit me on the head with her robotic arm again, same spot as she hit it the first top. It definitely didn't help it feel any better. "Hey! I TOLD YOU TO STOP WITH ALL THE FRICKIN APOLOGIES, DIDN'T I?" She shouted angrily.

"I'm sor-, I mean, yes! Yes, of course! I'll stop apologizing!" I said loud and proud.

"You don't seem like yourself, Rukia," Kukaku said out of the blue. I was a bit shocked and stepped back for a moment.

"What... What do you mean?" I asked. Talk about sudden mood change.

Kukaku sighed. "I think I know what you need to get you back to your old self," she said with a smile. "But first I think we need to tell your older brother and Old Man Yama that you haven't disappeared off the face of the Earth."

"Huh?" I asked, confused.

"Well, you've been out here all night and it's the day of your ceremony and the Kuchiki Princess is no where to be found. Don't you think they'd be at least a little worried?"

I looked down at my feet. "I... I guess they probably would be."

"Yeah, they would be. Besides, our birthday gift for you is back at my house and I want to be the first one who gives you a present!" Kukaku said proudly.

I opened my eyes widely. "Y-You and Ganju got me a gift?"

"Well, I just said that your birthday gift is back at my house, didn't I? That usually means that someone got you a gift, am I correct?"

"Oh, you didn't have to do that!" I said nervously, shaking my hands back in forth.

"Listen you!" Kukaku shouted as she put her hand on my head, giving me a noogie. "Stop with all this innocent 'Oh, you don't have to do that!' crap! Say thank you and accept it. Don't act like some sort of lost child!"

Nodding, I finally stood up and joined her. We walked for a while, making small talk every now and then. Eventually she asked why I was outside all night in the first place.

I sighed. "It's... a bit of a long story," I began. "Last night I found out that Byakuya had arranged for Renji and me to be married and it would be announced tonight. I felt like I had no say in it and I sort of... well, broke down a bit."

"Seriously?" Kukaku questioned. "How insensitive! Who told you this anyway?"

"Renji actually told me the situation and then he formally proposed to me because... well, he loves me."

Kukaku made a grin and said, "Well, we all know that's obvious."

"I didn't find out till then. I guess I'm just so blind to people's emotions." I said, starring off into the distance.

She patted me on the shoulder. "I wasn't good at that for a while when I was young as well. But after you go through a few lovers here and there, you start to get the hang of it," she said in a bit of a snobby way. "Besides, everyone has their flaws, am I right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that's true." Thinking about the situation again, I decided I didn't really want to talk to Byakuya again. Being around him would probably just make me feel awkward. "Hey, Kukaku? Can we, uh, _not _go to my brother right now? I'm fine with talking to the Head Captain, but talking to Byakuya right now would make me feel kind of... You know, out of place."

Kukaku smiled. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Alright, let's hurry up and go tell 'em. Race ya there!"

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Back in the Squad 4 barracks, Ichigo finally woke up around 11:30. He stayed up late looking for Rukia, but was deemed unsuccessful. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, scratched his head, and yawned, what people usually do when they wake up. Then, Uryu walked in.

"You're finally awake, I see," he said in a smart-mouthed tone. "Took you long enough."

"Well excuse me for being used to being awake at the crack of dawn unlike you."

"Yeah, yeah," Uryu said. "By the way, if you were wondering about Rukia, she's safe."

Ichigo's eyes opened wide in realization. He flew out of bed and ran up to Uryu. "How did you know she was gone? And how do you know she's safe?"

"Jeez, calm down, lover boy. Rukia and Kukaku stopped by this morning and told the Head Captain that she was going to take Rukia to visit the Rukongai district for a while, most likely to calm her nerves and visit some old friends."

Ichigo let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. I was worried something bad had happened to her."

"Ichigo," Uryu began.

"Huh?"

"I heard about the arranged marriage between Renji and Rukia, and how you were enraged by it."

He put his head down. "How much of it did you hear?"

"All of it, I assume. But listen to me, Ichigo. You can stop this all."

"What do you mean, Uryu?"

"You've seen it in the movies, haven't you?" Uryu chuckled. "If they can do it, so can you. Rukia can't be all that happy about it either, so it shouldn't be too hard to stop."

"You make it sound all too easy," Ichigo said, shaking his head.

"You've stopped Aizen, but you can't stop an arranged marriage? Pathetic. Just pathetic..." Uryu teased.

"Now listen, you! I never said I wouldn't at least try!" Ichigo said angrily, grabbing Uryu by the collar of his shirt.

Uryu smiled. "Calm down. I know you can do it. And you better, because if Renji gets Rukia, then you get Orihime, and we just can't have that, can we?" Ichigo's eyes widened again. "Just wait until she gets back from visiting Rukongai. You should talk to her about the matter before tonight." And with that, Uryu walked out of the room.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Ah, the fresh air of Rukongai! It feel so nice to be here again!" I said stretching my arms. Looking around me, I was back in my old home town, District 78. Certainly not the nicest places to live, but it was what we called home. I wanted to go pay my respects to my friends who had died up on the hill, but Kukaku dragged me away to her house before I got the chance.

"You can visit plenty of graves later! But we need to go back to my place so I can give you your present! And to make sure Ganju hasn't completely destroyed the house doing something careless again."

I smiled and laughed. Yeah, Kukaku was right. This is definitely what I need.

When we arrived at the Shiba House, it was as big and obnoxious as usual, with the huge arms holding up the infamous sign. I followed Kukaku inside.

"Ganju?" Kukaku called. "I'm home, and I brought the Kuchiki Princess along with me!"

"You can just call me Rukia," I insisted.

"I can, but Kuchiki Princess sounds more fun, doesn't it?" She laughed, and I sighed in return.

Kukaku went downstairs and opened a door which lead to what looked like a training room, where Ganju was in the middle. He seemed to be doing something, and whatever it was, he was trying to make it quick and hidden.

"You fool! Did you not finish wrapping it yet?" Kukaku yelled.

"No, that's-, well, I-I couldn't find the wrapping paper and I-I, um, was looking for a while and when I finally found it, it was too late, and, well, uh-" He was cut off by his older sister hitting him in the head with her pipe.

"You idiot! Why didn't you just look for some kind of bag?" She ranted. "Ugh, it doesn't matter now, I guess. Rukia, come over here."

I followed her directions, not wanting to get hit in the head. She patted the floor signaling for me to sit down with them.

"Here you go, Rukia. Happy Birthday, from all _three _of the Shibas," Kukaku said as she handed me a framed picture. It was of Kaien and me.

Kaien was patting me on the head, like he always used to do, and I was giving a weak smile, while his was as big as could be. Studying the picture, I didn't realize the tear that was jerking down my face. "You guys, this is an amazing present. Thanks so much... It really means a lot to me."

"No problem, Rukia," Ganju said with a smile. "And quit the crying - Do you really think he'd wanna see you like that?"

"Rukia, you should probably go visit his grave, don't you think?" Kukaku suggested.

I nodded. "Yes, I probably should. And I will." I got up and thanked the two of them sincerely. "I'll see you two tonight, okay?"

"Of course! Bye, Rukia!"

Visiting his grave... This'll certainly bring back memories.

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**A/N: Well, I liked this chapter better than the last one. This one's atmosphere is much lighter, don't you think? Anyway, I'm sorry I couldn't have gotten it up earlier. I just wanted to get one more chapter up before school starts again. It starts in one week for me. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! Anyway, thanks for reading all the way up to this point! Thanks for reviewing, too!**

**-RozenPitch, A.K.A. Bree  
**


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